Live Like A God
by MuseThalia
Summary: Eri Yamazki is inherantly selfish, something she'd never try to deny. It's why she's friends with Light Yagami, why she ignores her 'crazy' aunt, and why she's searching for a loophole in the mysterious 'Death Note' that will make her immortal. But a flight of panic and a chance encounter could change everything, even her very soul.
1. Prologue

_Hey there Death Note fans! MuseThalia here with my first ever fanfiction. I know I'm a little late to the party but after seeing this fantastic series, I just had to contribute to this wonderful fanbase. Now before we begin there are a few things I feel you should know: One, although it may not seem like it at first, this will be an LxOc story. Two, I'm not sure yet how high the rating on this story will go, but there will be swearing and violence (it is Death Note after all). Three, I love comments and constructive criticism and encourage both from my readers, weather they like my stories or not, so please let me know what you think :)_

_Enjoy! _

* * *

_July 9th, 1995 _

_Eriko Yamazaki is six years old, sitting on the back porch of her small home in Kanto Japan. Her large periwinkle eyes are fixed on a pad of paper, her tongue stuck out in fierce concentration as she scribbles, wearing down the brown crayon in her hand to a stump. As she draws, her father emerges from the house and sits down beside her, peeking at the paper and smiling in bemusement. _

"_Whatcha drawing Eri? Some kind of monster?" He asks, voice tinged with amused affection, eyes passing over the crudely drawn spikes, and what looks to be some sort of pointed hat. _

_Eri glances up with him, looking as affronted as a six year old possibly can. "No, he's my new friend, Mr. Scarecrow. I met him yesterday." _

_Her father chuckles and ruffles her hair fondly. "Thats my girl, always making friends." He gestures around the empty backyard, "Is he here right now? Maybe he can stay for dinner." _

_His daughter looks up at him as if he is being intentionally dense, "No, he had to stay with Mr. Kurohara, those are the rules." _

_Her father frowns in confusion, "Mr Kurohara…? From my work?" _

_Eri nods sagely and returns to her scribbling, "Yes daddy, Mr. Kurohara is the only one who can see him so Mr. Scarecrow has to stay with him." _

"_Then how come you can see him?" He asks. _

_She shrugs and tosses aside the now worn down crayon in favor of an orange one, inspecting it closely before attacking the paper with it, "I just can. I was looking around for some candy and when I looked up he was right in front of me. He's really nice." She holds up the now finished drawing, which depicts a lanky brownish-greyish-orangish creature with spikes, wearing a tall hat. "This is him, see? Only he's waaaay bigger than that in real life, probably' even bigger than you!" _

_Her father chuckles and scoops her into his arms, making her shriek with laughter. "I'll just bet he is, you'll have to introduce us sometime." He turns and walks back towards the house, "But it's almost dinnertime and we'll both be in trouble if we make your mom wait. How about we go inside and show her your drawing? _

_Eri giggles and grabs him around the neck in a strangling hug " 'Kay Daddy!" _

* * *

_September 12th, 1997 _

_The room is filled with smiling people and Eri stands clutching her mothers hand, feeling small and nervous around all these strangers. Her mother taps her shoulder to draw her attention to the people her father is talking to. _

"_Eri, that man over there is your father's boss, Mr. Yagami. You meet him once when you were little, do you remember that?" _

_Eri scrunches up her face in an effort to remember the tall dark-haired man and the cheerful looking woman beside him. "Mabye…" _

_Her mother smiles and points to a small boy Eri hadn't noticed standing at Mr. Yagami 's side. "That's his son, Light. He's the same age as you, you know. Do you want to go over and meet him?" _

_Eri's eyes sparkle with excitement at the thought of speaking to someone her own age, "Can I?" _

_Her mother nods, "Of course, I wanted to speak to Mrs. Yagami for a bit anyway. Just stay where I can see you ok?" _

_She smiles and nods excitedly, clearly paying only half attention to her mother's words. "Ok!" She turns and doges though the milling adults, nearly running into the boy upon reaching him, prodding him in the shoulder and grinning when he turns, confused, to look at her. "Hi! I'm Eriko, but you can call me Eri! Your hair is pretty by the way…" _

_The boy blinks and gives her a shy smile, "I'm Light, and thanks, I guess." _

_Eri giggles and grabs his hand, "D'you wanna go play detectives? My daddy's one and thats what I wanna be when I grow up." _

"_Me too." He says, smiling genuinely now, rather than to be polite. _

_Eri tugs on her bangs in concentration, "You know what that means right? Now we have to be best friends forever, so when we grow up we can be best-friend-detectives someday." She extends her pinky and looks at him expectantly, " Deal?" _

_Light smiles and reaches forward, hooking his pinky with hers, "Deal." _

* * *

_March 24th, 1999 _

_Mr. and Mrs. Yamazaki stand in the kitchen with Mr. Yagami; Eri and Light can be seen through the open kitchen door, sitting of the living room floor and engrossed in a rather elaborate card house. Mr. Yamazaki's face is grim as he examines the file Mr. Yagami has given him. _

"_I dont know about this cheif… I have a family and the Hansuda case is basically a suicide mission. I dont know if I feel comfortable risking my family's security like that, and Eri's so young…" _

_Mr Yagami rubs his eyes and sighs, " I understand how you feel Hirayo, I have young children as well and share many of the same concerns. But think about this rationally, you're one of the best undercover agents we have, and after losing Kurohara the way we did…. if you can get enough information on the gang to convict even a few of its members it would be a tremendous help." _

_Eri's father raises a skeptical eyebrow, "And if they figure out I'm a cop and come after my family? What then?" _

_Mr. Yagami places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I can assure you, the NPA will do everything in its power to ensure your family's safety. If you'd like, Eriko can even stay with us until you feel it's safe." _

_Mrs. Yamazaki smiles weakly, "She and Light are such good friends she'll probably be excited." _

_Apparently tiring of cardhouses, Eri and Light pick that exact moment to dash into the kitchen, the former dragging the latter behind her. She stops beside her mother and tugs on her sweater sleeve, "Excited about what mom?" _

_Her father affixes a strained smile to his face and kneels down beside her, taking her small hands in his much larger ones. "Eri, how would you like to go stay with Light's family for a few weeks? Just untill I finish an important job." _

_Eri does not reply right away, looking from her mother, to her father, to Mr. Yagami, and to Light, who smiles reassuringly at her. Finally, she looks back to her father and speaks with a seriousness far beyond her ten years. _

"_It's a really dangerous job, isn't it? You could get really hurt." _

_At first, her father seems surprised by the question. But he recovers quickly and adopts a look of resignation and affection. "Nothing gets passed you, does it angel?" He reaches out and ruffles her ebony hair, "All my jobs are dangerous, you know that, this one's just a little more so. But that doesn't mean it's not important. I need to know you're safe so I can catch the bad guys and get back home to you and mommy, so can you do this for me? Please?" _

_Eri frowns, her lip trembling slightly. But she takes a deep breath and nods, a new conviction in her eyes. "Ok daddy. As long as you promise me you'll be careful." _

"_I promise."_

* * *

_April 17th, 1999 _

_Eri is stone faced, staring at at the rain slicked headstones in front of glazed eyes attempt to burn a hole through the cold stone by sheer willpower. The rest of the funeral guests have long since left but Mr. Yagami and Light stand behind her, unsure if they should speak. Finally, Mr. Yagami breaks the silence. _

"_Eriko, I cannot express how sorry I am for what happened, but you'll get sick if we stay out here in the rain. Please come inside so we can talk about this." _

_Eri does not look at him. _

_Light tentatively steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder "Dad's right Eri, your- they wouldn't want you to get sick, and neither do I. Please come inside." _

_She still doesn't reply, staring at the stone, unblinking. Mr. Yagami reaches out to pull her away, but she whips around, eyes blazing. "I don't care! It's all your fault anyway! You said you'd keep them safe and you LIED!" _

"_Eriko-" _

"_DON'T TOUCH ME!" _

_She doesn't know how far she runs after that, just that the rain doesn't stop and it seems as if she never will either. She thinks she hears Light chase after her, but she's quickly lost in the swiftly increasing torrent of rain. She runs, dodging through alleyways and slipping on wet concrete as she tries to get away, get anywhere but that place, with them and her parents names etched in cold stone. When she finally stops in an alley somewhere in the city, she falls to the ground and covers her head with her arms, the sound of the rain muffling her sobs. _

_She doesn't see the figure that approaches her, taller than any man, spiked, and wearing a three-cornered pointed hat until it stands directly in front of her. It leans down and speaks in a voice like trees breaking under a storm; _"_**I can help you little one, if you'd like." **_

_Eri gasps and stares up at the monstrous creature standing over her. It stands at least 8 feet tall, with leathery-brown patchwork skin that appears held together with fraying thread and yellowing bandages that swath the creature's face and torso. Its single orange eye glows dimly in the darkness of the alley. _

_Eri doesn't bother to scream, she doesn't have the energy. _

"_W-who are you?" _

_The monsters twisted black lips part slightly, tugging at their sewn corners. "__**I would not expect you to remember, when last we met, you were even smaller then you are now." **_

_She stares at the creature, her eyes going wide with sudden realization and shock. "Mr. Scarecrow?" _

_The creature's broad, twisted back bends until its bandaged face is level with her own. _

"_**Not exactly, I am the Shinigami Uller, and if you'll pick up that notebook in front of you, I have a deal that just might interest you."**_

* * *

_January 2nd, 2004 _

_Eri Is sitting at her desk, absently balancing a pencil on her nose. Uller stands behind her, his single orange eye passing over the pages of the blank notebook left open in front of her. _

"_**I thought you accepted the notebook in order to avenge your parents deaths." **__He says, voice tinged with confusion. _

_Eri grins at him and taps her pencil against the brim of his hat, "I told you already, I want this to be perfect before I make my move. I can't afford any mistakes." She turns back to the notebook and flips through the pages, "Besides, I've only got 10 of their names so far. There's twenty-one of them all together. Light helped me get what I could but I need to do the rest on my own, the less he's involved in this, the better." _

"_**I offered you the shinigami eyes." **_

_Eri scoffs, "And I told you, its not enough. I dont need to be able to see peoples names, I know who I want to kill and its only a matter of time before I can. What I need is something that can keep me alive so I can make sure that happens. Either come up with a better deal or stop bothering me about it." _

_The shinigami looks confused, _"_**I… Do not understand." **_

"_Of course you don't, I didn't expect you to." She places a hand on his skeletal forearm, "Uller, do you know why shinigami can't be killed by a Deathnote? Or by anything else?" _

"_**I am- not certain." **_

"_Well I've been studying the notebook, and i've come up with a theory." She smirks, "I think it has something to do with your hearts." _

"_**Our… hearts?" **_

_Eri smiles at him, genuinely now. "Exactly. A shinigami's heart can't be stopped by a Death Note, can It? Thats what protects you, makes you immortal to everything but old age." _

_She takes his strange, misshapen hands in hers. _

"_Uller, if you truly care about me as much as you say you do, you do what I ask. Make a deal with me; Half my remaining lifespan, for a shinigami's heart." _

* * *

_February 30th, 2005 _

_Eri sits across from Light in a small, mostly empty cafe, two mostly untouched cups of coffee steaming on the table between them. Uller stands, unseen, behind her like some kind of grotesque guardian angel. _

"_I have to admit Eri, I'm glad you called. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me." Light said, smiling sadly. _

_Eri tugs at her bangs sheepishly, " Yeah well I became sort of a recluse there for a while, for obvious reasons. But I have missed hanging out with my best friend, and with everything that's happened lately I think I might be ready to rejoin the real world, you know?" _

_Light's eyes widen in realization, "Thats right! That huge fire at the Hansuda warehouse, everyone inside was killed." He grinned at her, "I told you, the universes sense of justice always wins out in the end." _

_Eri can't help but smile back. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of guys, that's for sure." _

"_You're not upset they weren't arrested?" He asks. _

_Eri's smile fades slightly, "The way I see it, you're absolutely right. They got theirs either way right? What's it matter how it happens." _

_She twists the tarnished pendant at her neck and stands, grabbing Light's hand and grinning, _

" _But I didn't come here to talk about that. It feels like I haven't seen you in years Light, and I booked us a court at the gym. I haven't played tennis in a while but I bet you can't kick my ass as badly as you did last time." _

* * *

_Light Yagami sits at his computer, typing away and occasionally glancing at the open chemistry textbook beside the keyboard. He jumps in surprise at a tap on the window. Crossing to it, he sighs in exasperation and opens it, allowing an unapologetic Eri to clamber through. _

"_You can't keep showing up in the middle of the night like this you know, I have cram school and if my parents find out we'll both be in trouble." _

_Eri ignores him and flops across the foot of his bed, "Chill out Light, I just need to get away from the house for a bit." _

"_Your aunt again?" _

_Eri cracked one eye open, "Yep, tonight I was treated to a 20 minute ramble about the 'evil spirits' I'm apparently bringing into the house." _

"_I thought she was getting better?" He asks. _

_Eri sits up and laugh bitterly, "That's what the Doctor said, but HE doesn't have to go home with her every night, so what does he know…" She casts an almost pleading look at her friend, "Please Light, can I crash here for the night? I promise I'll get out before morning so your parents don't freak out. I don't wanna be there when she's like this" _

_Light hesitates but eventually caves under her pleading stare. "Fine, just let me make up a bed on the floor. " _

_She hugs him around the neck, as if trying to squeeze her gratitude into him. "You're the best, you know that?" _

_She falls asleep quickly after that, Thoughts swirling in her head and lulling her to sleep as effectively as any lullaby. _

'_People don't really change, Light. People like you, me, and aunt Isuzu especially. It would take nothing short of a miracle, or a catastrophe, to change us. But who knows? I could be wrong, if anyone has time to change, I do.' _

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the prologue, I don't own death note._


	2. Chapter One, Distorted

Well, a good struggle with this site later and we have the first chapter of LLAG. I would have posted it with the prologue, but I'm still learning the ropes with this particular site. Anyway, here's where this story really gets started; after this, you can expect weekly updates. I hope you enjoy.

(I feel like me not owning death note should be a given, but just in case: I don't)

* * *

Eri woke on the morning of the morning of October 24th with a bad taste in her mouth and a pounding headache. And the Shinigami staring at her from his perch at the window opposite her bed did nothing to improve her mood. She sat up, running a hand through her sleep-mussed ebony hair and giving aforementioned god of death a bleary glare.

"Uller, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't. Watch. Me. Sleep. It's super creepy, and I'm pretty sure it's contributed to a couple nightmares."

Uller's already bedraggled appearance seemed to droop further under her glare. "**I was making sure you were safe." **

Eri scoffed and stumbled out of bed, crossing to her dresser and rooting around for her school clothes, which, as usual were proving strangely elusive among her collection of jeans and hoodies. "I get that living for hundreds of years could make anyones memory spotty, but even you should remember this." She pulled at the pendant she'd worn for the last three years, the burnished bronze disc glinting as a sunbeam caught the inverse pentagram inscribed on its surface, "As long as our pact holds, I have a shinigami heart. The only way something's going to happen to me is if my time runs out, and since you refuse to tell me _when_ that's going to be… I don't think there's a point in worrying."

She turned and tossed a tank top at him, which passed through his loosely bandaged chest as though it was smoke.

"Now get out. I need to get dressed for school and you being here only ups the creep factor."

The shinigami shrugged and passed through the door, probably going to pout in the kitchen. Eri was used to his fits of melancholy and paid him no mind other than to call; "Don't eat all the breakfast cereal!" at his back as he went. He either didn't hear her or ignored her, but she strongly suspected the latter. '_Probably going to give me the silent treatment.. sulky shinigami.' _

After dressing and pulling a section of her unruly hair into a ponytail, she knelt and reached under the dresser, pressing her fingertips against the smooth wood. As she did, a section of the bottom fell away, revealing a thin black notebook. Eri flipped past the only marked page to the next, tearing it out and slipping the paper into her jacket, carefully replacing the notebook in its hiding place.

'_Better safe then sorry.' _

She tramped down the creaking, dusty steps from her room to the equally dismal kitchen, where her aunt sat in one of the mismatched chairs at the kitchen table. Isuzu Yamazaki looked exactly as she always did, flyaway grey-black hair, threadbare green shawl clutched around her bony shoulders, pale fingers laced around a mug of tea. She didn't speak when Eri entered the kitchen, and Eri was just beginning to think it might actually turn out to be a good day when her aunt turned her dark, rapidly shifting eyes on the other inhabitant of the house.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her reedy voice breaking the silence in the kitchen like a stone cracking glass.

Eri sighed and plastered on a smile before turning from the cabinet where she'd been rooting around for the breakfast cereal and facing her aunt. "To school, Isuzu, like I do almost everyday, remember?"

Her aunt frowned, glassy eyes focused on a point behind Eri's shoulder. "Is your friend coming with you? He should, _they_ told me a storm is coming."

Eri almost laughed at that, " I'm sure _they_ did. Sure I'll bring him along, he keeps me company on the walk." She abandoned the search for cereal and grabbed a peach off the counter. "I'm off, dont freak out the neighbors while I'm gone."

She was out the door before she could hear if she'd gotten a reply. It was easier to play into Isuzu's delusions then to argue with her, but that didn't mean she wanted to spend her morning talking to someone who might as well be on another planet.

* * *

They walked in silence for several minutes, interjected only by the crunching of Eri's impromptu breakfast. Uller following like a bedraggled patchwork shadow. She finished and tossed the pit behind her, shooting the silent shinigami a curious look.

"You're awfully quiet today, more than usual, I mean. Something on your mind?" She asked, more out of boredom then actual desire to know.

He tugged at the loose stitches holding his leathery skin, "**Did you bring the notebook?" **

Eri shook her head and tapped her index finger just above her heart, "Nope. I've got a page stashed though, just in case. Why? It's not like I ever use it."

The shinigami shrugged his massive shoulders. "**Isuzu is right. I don't know exactly why but something feels…. wrong. You should be careful." **

Eri rolled her eyes, Unable to believe they were having this conversation. "Ok, first off; she's crazy and we both know it. 'My friend' doesn't even mean you, it's some kind of 'evil presence' that follows me around or something, and don't even get me started on the whole '_They _tell me things' thing." she grinned and reached up to brush her fingers across the pendant at her throat, "Besides, I'll be fine, you made sure of that yourself. Now shut up for a bit, I want to go over my notes for english and you're distracting me."

* * *

The next few hours of school where the definition of uneventful, and Eri could have cried with relief upon entering her last class of the day to find Light sitting in his usual spot by the window. She took her usual place to his right and caught his attention with a sharp prod to the arm.

"Hey Light, did you get the results of the national exam back yet? I wanna see how badly you crushed the rest of us in the rankings.''

Light smiled in his signature charming manner and reached into his bag, removing an official looking piece of paper and handing it into her eagerly outstretched hands, "Well, I hope I dont dissapoint."

Eri barely glanced at it before tossing it back on his desk and heaving a dramatic sigh. "First in the Nation, I should have guessed. I dont know why the rest of us even try…" she trailed off and mimed wiping away a tear.

Light chuckled, "What did you get then?"

"31st, not great but nothing to get upset about." she said, pulling out her own scores and handing them to him.

"You always underestimate yourself Eri, for the almost dangerous lack of studying you do, these scores are actually pretty amazing.' He said, a warmth in his voice he usually reserved for getting things from the female teachers.

Eri rolled her eyes, "Your particular brand of flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Yagami, but not with me. Why don't you try it out on them?" She gestured towards the back of the classroom, where a group of girls were making a valiant effort to set her on fire with only the force of their glares. "I know they'd appreciate it, and it might keep them from trying to make me spontaneously combust for a day or so."

Light shook his head and leaned back in his chair, his smile fading to give way to an almost irritated look. "I'm not dating anyone until the exams are over. Although, considering my scores maybe I shouldn't be worried… after all, nothing ever _reall_y changes..." He trailed off, eyes wandering to the window.

Eri frowned and waved a hand in front of her friends face, "Hey, earth to Light!' She raised a quizzical eyebrow, "What's with you? I'd have thought you'd be happy, you know, with your genius confirmed by the nation and all."

When Light looked back at her, the glare had been replaced by a curiously blank stare that made her feel slightly uneasy.

"Doesn't it bother you that nothing ever changes?" He stated in the strange, edged tone she only ever heard when they talked about their future as detectives. "Every day it's the same thing. The same news on permanent repeat. It's so… boring." He shifted to stare out the window again, resting his chin against his hand.

Eri felt the same unease from before prickle over her skin. She'd discussed things like this with Light before but never outside their midnight 'rant-about-our-problems' conversations they had when she managed to escape to his place for a hour or so. He didn't often drop his happy-go-lucky honor student thing in public, and she wasn't sure she liked how cold his expression had become. "I guess…" She said cautiously, "What brought this on?"

Light turned back to her, usual smile firmly in place. "It's nothing, just thinking out loud."

* * *

After parting ways with Light at the school, Eri began the walk home, Uller floating along beside her. The remainder of class had actually improved her mood, with any misgivings quickly erased by Light's natural ability to put people at ease. Even Eri wasn't entirely immune to his charm, though after 10 years she'd become fairly used to it. She probably wouldn't have given her strange day a second thought, had Uller not been staring at her with a bit more than his usual intensity.

Eri could feel his single eye burning a hole in the back of her head as she walked, but managed to hold back her curiosity for a whole seven minutes before it got the better of her, just to spite him. "Alright, I've had enough of everyone being weird today. Quit staring at me and tell me what the problem is so we don't have to talk about it at home, that place has enough people that 'talk to themselves'."

Uller growled lowly, his voice like distant thunder, "**Today, while you were in class… I felt the presence of another Shinigami." **

Eri stopped dead, her eyes widening in shock. She whipped around and grabbed the death god's twisted forearms, "What?! Now?! Here in Japan?!" She said, her voice taught with tightly controlled panic.

He nodded, floppy patchwork hat falling forward slightly as he did, "**Today, yes. I could sense them for a brief time before they returned to the Shinigami Realm. I waited because I suspected you would react poorly to-" **He was abruptly cut off by a sharp shove from Eri, though it was more startling than effective in moving his hulking frame.

"Of course I'd react 'poorly'!" She spat, struggling to keep her tone level, "Do you at least know if they dropped a Death Note? Did you decide to hold on to that information too?!"

Uller's semi-sewn lips twisted into an almost sheepish grimace. "**I am… Not certain." **

Eri closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath in an attempt to calm herself. When she no longer felt the urge to pull out the Death Note and murder someone, she spoke; "Ok, then this may not be as bad as we think. We'll just have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious in the next few days." She looked up and fixed him with a piercing glare. " Keep me informed if you see anything else. If there's another notebook user out there, I want to know about them before they know about me; do you understand?"

Uller inclined his head, "**Understood." **

"Good." She turned to continue down the street, "I'm glad I don't have to explain to you how serious this is. Now, lets get home become the universe can throw anything else our way."

Despite her brave words, a sense of foreboding had settled in Eri's stomach that the walk home did nothing to dissipate.

* * *

When Eri entered the living room, Isuzu was in her usual spot for the evening, curled on the couch and staring at the TV; her eyes wide and her boney fingers clutching the edges of her shawl like a vice. Her mouth moved without sound, and she didn't acknowledge Eri when her niece entered. Eri wondered if announcing her presence was even worth the trouble when her aunt was like this.

"I'm home." She said dully, deciding it was better then letting her aunt continue to mutter at the TV all night.

Isuzu didn't reply, instead looking at her with the same confused/slightly frightened expression she always wore around Eri since the day the girl had arrived. Eri crossed to the couch and sat down beside her, fixing her gaze to the screen because it was preferable to eye contact. "School was great, thanks for asking. What's happening on the news?"

Isuzu seemed to realize she'd been watching the news before Eri's arrival, her eyes snapping back to the screen and muttering a soft, "Hostage situation." before falling silent.

Knowing that was all she was going to get, Eri turned her full attention to the dark-haired reporter on the screen.

"_The same assailant who attacked a busy shopping district in Shinjuku yesterday has struck again, taking eight people hostage at this daycare center. His captives include both children and teachers. The police have now identified the suspect as 42 year old Kuro Otoharada, currently unemployed. The police expect negotiations to begin immediately." _

Eri felt disgust rise in her throat like bile; her fingers twitching involuntarily towards the fragment of the note still hidden in her jacket. '_Light's right, everyday we have to deal with people like this...' _She pulled her hand back and clenched her fingers into the arm of the couch, '_Forget it, this guy will get his. It's not up to me to start killing whoever I think deserves it, I mean, if there was ever a way to get caught…' _

The view changed to the newsroom, and Eri's attention and thoughts wandered back to the events of the day. '_Is it possible another Death Note found its way to the human realm? It's not probable but even so…' _She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to ease the headache she felt developing behind them. '_Don't jump to conclusions Eri, just have Uller keep an eye out for anything suspicious and-" _She was jolted from her thoughts by a sudden shout from the female news anchor on screen.

"_Wait! We're seeing something here, it looks like movement at the front entrance." _

"_The hostages are coming out, and they all look to be unharmed! The special forces are taking action, they're moving in! We dont know yet if the suspect's been arrested." _The reporter paused, putting his hand to his earpiece as his eyes went wide, "_Huh? Yes? Ok! We now have confirmation; the suspect has been found dead inside, I repeat, the suspect has been found dead!' _

Eri felt as if all the blood had drained from her body in the space of that moment. Her heart pounded frantically against her ribs as she stared, riveted, hoping against hope that he'd been shot, stabbed, fallen and cracked his head open, anything but-

"_Special forces are denying any allegations of anyone having shot the suspect." _

"_So it's possible he was feeling cornered, and decided to commit suicide?" _

"_Well according to the statements from the hostages, the suspect just suddenly collapsed…" _

After that, the TV might as well have been on mute for all Eri heard. The sound of her own of her own breathing was thunderous to her as she stood, barely pausing to mumble something about going to bed early to her motionless aunt before sprinting to her darkened bedroom and slamming the door, collapsing against it. She drew her legs up to her chest and grasped them like a child.

"'**That... was easier than expected." **

Eri raised her head to meet Uller's gaze, which wasn't easy, even with the Shinigami sitting cross-legged a few feet away. Even sitting, he towered over the trembling girl.

Eri found she didn't have the energy to throw a sarcastic comment back at him. Instead, she let out a bitter laugh and let her chin drop against her knees, "Uller… Do you think it's possible that man wasn't killed by a Death Note? That maybe he committed suicide, like that reporter said?"

Uller blinked, his orange eye gleaming in the dimly lit room. "**Considering the days events, that is unlikely." **

She nodded in resigned agreement, tugging at a lock of hair hard enough that some of the strands tore. "I guess all I can do then is not panic. Panic more, I mean." She gave him a weak smile, "Besides, I can't be killed, so whats the big whoop?"

"**You've found loopholes in the Death Note's rules before. You are afraid someone else could do the same." **Uller said, his voice unchanging.

Her shaky smile became a grimace, "You know me so well..."

They were silent for several minutes, for how long exactly, Eri couldn't tell. But when the desire to scream in frustration had passed, she reached out and grabbed Uller's skeletal hand in her own, prompting a surprised jolt from the Shinigami.

"I'm not going to die, Uller. And I'm not going to prison. I haven't used the note in almost 3 years, and I'm not going to drag up all the baggage that comes with it. I'm going to find out who this person is, and try and convince them to give up the note. But if I can't, if it becomes too big of a risk or I'm tempted to used the notebook again-" Her eyes lit with a sudden blaze of conviction;

"I want you to take all my memories of the Death Note."

Uller didn't reply, though it was obvious how badly he wanted to argue. Unable to muster the will to explain further, she released his hand and managed to stand despite the new shakiness her knees seemed to have acquired. Walking wordlessly to her bed and collapsing, fully clothed, onto it.

'_I'll be fine, I'm probably blowing this whole thing out of proportion anyway...' _she thought, closing her eyes, '_I'll find this person; I've got a plan. And if it doesn't work… I guess I'll run, I'm good at that.' _She thought to herself, as her eyes closed and her heart beat began to slow.

It was a long time before she managed to sleep.


	3. Chapter Two, Cornered

_Hey guys, thanks for waiting so patiently for this chapter, it gave me a bit of trouble but I like they way it turned out overall. Also, its a long one, so I hope you enjoy. _

* * *

Over the next six days, Eri found herself kept almost irritatingly busy; both with attempts to discover the identity of the second Death Note owner, and an increasingly frustrating lack of results. By the end of the sixth day, she was beginning to wonder if Uller could have made a mistake, but didn't voice it to him, as she suspected it would cause him to sulk, (He really was moody, even for a god of death). But even when he was in a good enough mood to help, they had only come up with a few speculations to go on, and they were weak leads at best.

Whoever had the Note was most likely in Japan, seeing as the hostage situation was only ever broadcasted inside Japan.

The broadcast killing had been the all important 'Lets see if this is just some stupid joke test', but the owner clearly hadn't been put off by taking a human life, considering how many more criminals had died over the past few days.

They either hadn't yet been contacted by a shinigami, or they didn't live anywhere near the Kanto region, seeing as Uller hadn't sensed or seen anything in his investigations of the area.

Eri almost felt lucky to have gained this much information, even if it was mainly guesswork. If she had to be honest with herself, the only reason she'd gotten this much was due in large part to how active the new user had been in the past few days alone. He or she had even gained a sort of 'fanbase' among the more opinionated forums, as well as a nickname.

'_Kira the Savior...? Are these people serious?' _

She had decided to watch the forums for signs of and possibly information on her elusive quarry, and the morning of day six found her staring in disbelief at her computer screen, finally having found a name to put to the lack of face she currently had. Eri leaned back in her chair and pressed her palms against her eyes, as if doing so would somehow make the situation less unbelievable. People were not only supporting this guy, they thought he was some kind of…. avenging angel or something.

Honestly, it made her wonder if she shouldn't worry so much about how people would feel if they found out about her Death Note. Clearly, some people were completely supportive of anonymous mass-murder.

Shaking off her bitter thoughts, Eri turned towards the window and gestured to Uller, who'd been sitting on the ledge, hunched and staring at the birds as if wondering how fast he'd have to be to catch one. "Uller, come here and take a look at this, would you? I think you'll get a kick out of it."

Said shinigami stood and ambled over, bending down crookedly to stare at the screen. "**Kira… from the english term 'Killer'?" **He muttered, sounding confused.

Eri snorted derisively, "Yeah, apparently people are totally willing to support murder by an unknown psychopath, but only on the internet. Go figure…"

Uller shrugged and reached up a twisted hand to tug at the fraying bandages swathing his jaw. "**Humans are very strange…" **

Eri felt her lips twitch slightly at his words. Sometimes, it seemed Uller had a better grasp on how people were then most humans she knew. She reached out and switched off her monitor, stretching languidly to rid herself of the kinks developed from hours of fruitless research. "You don't need to tell me. By the way, anything new on your end? I've been using the NPA passwords Light gave me to keep up with the investigation, but as of now they've got less information than we do."

"**Nothing of note. The police haven't begun the investigation?" **

Eri laughed, "Oh no, they have. Apparently interpol had some kind of big not-so-secret meeting to decide what to do about all these deaths. They just haven't come up with any results, from what I can tell, anyway." She stood, grabbing her school bag and starting for the door. She beckoned Uller impatiently as she went. "Come on, I want you with me today since this whole 'Search all of Japan until we get results' thing doesn't seem to be working. We'll pick it back up after the 37 day rule goes into effect and we _know_ a shinigami is present. There's really no point in doing anything before then."

Uller cocked his head slightly, as if unsure he had heard her correctly, "**With the current death rate, do you really think that's wise? from what we have seen so far, those people cannot afford 31 days." **He spoke slowly, as if testing her reaction.

Eri felt a surge of anger at his words but refused to let it show, instead fixing him with a look that suggested he'd lost his mind. "Uller, I'm not doing this for them, you should know that. They're criminals and I honestly don't care one way or the other what happens to them. What I do care about is some lunatic with a god-complex running around with the only thing that could kill me." she tugged at her bangs involuntarily, "I've spent a lot of time being selfish in order to stay safe; I'm not going to start playing hero just because you think I should."

She'd meant for the last words to sound like a challenge of sorts, but they came with less conviction than she would have liked. Uller didn't reply, but the lookin his fire-orange eye made her feel as if she had confirmed some theory he'd been trying to test. She shouldered her way past him and down the stairs in an effort to shake off the feeling of unease that had settled over her since the discovery of the second Death Note user, but she found that the silence only drew her thoughts back to it. Eri needed answers, fast. Before anything else could get weirder than it already was.

She decided to forgo breakfast, though she gave Uller the last box of cereal to eat on the walk, if only to make sure he stayed quiet. She barely paused to shout a distracted goodbye to her aunt before escaping the house and setting off towards the school, crossing her fingers things would be simpler there then at home.

* * *

Eri didn't see Light upon arriving at school, but that wasn't that unusual as they only had a few classes together at the end of the day. Still, as she neared the end of her second-to-last period with no ideas on how to fix her current situation, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment that her hyper-intelligent friend wasn't the first person she'd seen. God knows he'd be the one to talk to about stuff like this.

'_Who am I kidding? Light would already have this case half solved by now, he'd probably even know Kira's shoe size…' _She mused, doodling absently on the edge of her desk, '_That'd be a fun conversation: Hey Light, remember those gang guys that killed my parents, then died mysteriously? Yeah, I did that with my magic-murder notebook! But wait, don't freak out, because now I think this other guy has one and can you please help me catch him?' _She let her head drop to the desk with a groan. '_If our friendship has a limit, thats where it is. At magic-murder notebook.' _

Had she been packing her bag instead of lost in thought, Eri might have realized the other headache in her life was creeping up behind her, or at least turned around before she was knocked from her chair by 90 pounds of multicolored hair and rabid enthusiasm.

"ERI!" An instantly recognizable voice shouted before she was pinned to the floor in a full body hug. When the room stopped spinning long enough for Eri to open her eyes and not immediately throw up, she found herself staring at the the red/blue streaked hair and wide goofy grin of Momoka Katsugi, her only human friend besides Light, and, if she was completely honest, the source of much of her non-murder notebook related stress.

"Oh- Hey Momoka." She wheezed, "How was Thailand? And can you please get off of me? I think I punctured a lung…"

Momoka pouted but got up and held out a ring-bedecked hand to help Eri to her feet, "Fiiiiiine… Why can't you just let me love you?"

"Its a health-hazard." Eri replied, grinning in spite of her words.

Momoka snorted and punched her lightly in the arm, "Baby." she turned on her heel and started out the door, dragging Eri behind her and speaking in a louder voice than was strictly necessary. "Thailand was cool, I guess. But my Grandma's place is sooooooo boring! And since _Someone _decided to be a weirdo and not txt me…" She trailed off, giving Eri a pointed look.

Eri attempted the best shrug she could while still being dragged at near breakneck speeds through the hall. "I was busy… Exams and stuff, you know how it is."

Momoka didn't seem convinced, "Really? So busy you didn't notice a serial killer popped up out of nowhere? And here I thought you'd be all over that heart-attack thing, aren't you supposed to be super into all that detective stuff?

"I am, but you're not. Why would I wanna bore you with stuff like that?" Eri said flippantly, wishing her friend would drop the subject, though with Momoka, that was unlikely.

"Wouldn't want to bore me with!-" Momoka began hotly, but then her eyes flashed in realization and a sly smile crossed her face. "Fine, I get it. If I had someone like Light Yagami to play detective with I wouldn't invite you either…"

Eri shoved her, feeling her cheeks redden at what her friend was suggesting, "Shut up, it's not like that and you know it, you only say stuff like that because you know it's weird."

Momoka grinned, her dark, kohl-rimmed eyes sparkling mischievously, "Your loss, that guy's kind of an ass but I can see why you hang out with him…"

"Momo, Is there a point to all this? Because I kinda have to get to class…." Eri said, hoping her friend would get the hint. Despite being happy Momoka was back from her vacation, She couldn't help but feel like if she let her drag her around any longer, she would end up with a dislocated shoulder.

Finally, they stopped outside of Eri's classroom and she was able to take a breath, Momoka watching in amusement as she panted. "Yeah, I was getting to that." she tapped Eri on the nose, " It's been more two weeks and we haven't even talked once. You can't hang out with no one but Light, you know, its not healthy. I'll let you get to class but I want you to promise me you'll call or txt or something, got it?

Eri sighed, knowing full well her friend would never let her get to class without a promise. "Fine, I promise. And could you at least try to be nice to Light next time you see him? I'm getting tired of being the mediator between you two."

Momoka grinned and shook her head, "Uh-uh, that guy may be cute, and he may be your friend but he weirds me out, and he thinks he's so much smarter than everyone."

"He is so much smarter than everyone."

"Semantics." Momoka said, waving her hand dismissively and turning to walk down the hall. She paused to shout; "Remember, call me!" over her shoulder before disappearing into the crowd of milling students, leaving Eri to stare after her, feeling slightly like she'd just been assaulted.

But then again, that was Momoka. She was a fiercely loyal friend, and had been since middle school, when an ill-advised fight and two weeks detention had brought them together. But Eri didn't feel close to ready to deal with her AND Kira at the same time. If given the choice, she almost felt she'd take Kira over an angry Momoka, at least with Kira she'd have a chance of winning…

She took a deep breath and sat down in her usual seat, running her hands through her hair and wishing the day would end so she could get back to what was really important. '_Why can't anything be easy…' _

Suddenly, she was startled out of her thoughts by the touch of Uller's skeletal hand on her shoulder, realizing that she'd almost forgotten his presence in the Momoka whirlwind moments before. Biting her tongue to keep from yelping in surprise, she leaned back and angled her head back ever so slowly to let him know she was listening. His voice was low and grating, as if he was attempting to whisper.

"**I have found the user of the second Death Note." **

Eri felt all the warmth leave her body at once, as her previously whirring mind ground to a halt at his words. It couldn't be- not here- not now. She wasn't prepared, she hadn't thought anything though nearly enough, she didn't know if they had the eyes or if they'd- she cut off that thought before she could finish it and cause herself to hyperventilate. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl as she waited for Uller to continue, breath baited and body tense.

"**There is a shinigami standing behind the boy in the doorway; Do you want me to let you see it?" **

Eri felt her head jerk imperceptibly in the barest hint of a nod. She waited for a count of ten seconds before raising her head ever so slightly, as if in a dream, to meet the friendly brown eyes of Light Yagami.

He stood, silhouetted in the doorway, with a huge black and white Shinigami floating behind him. The creature in question seemed to notice her gaze, and its harlequin mouth split into a jagged grin that made her blood run cold.

"**Oh." **It said, burning yellow red eyes shining in amusement. "**Now **_**THIS is interesting…."**_

* * *

When Eri arrived home from school that day, she found her aunt had left the TV on. She couldn't bring herself to care enough to turn it off.

She had managed to distract Light from her shock at seeing the ghoulish shinigami floating behind him by being almost overly enthusiastic over the lesson, and while he had seemed suspicious for the first minute or so, it was quickly covered by his habitual natural charm. If Eri hadn't known better, she would have thought his good mood was a bit creepy. As she did know better, she found it extremely creepy.

It was clear within the first few minutes of talking to him that Light was different. Outwardly, he'd seemed much the same as always, cheerful, helpful, hardworking. But his eyes radiated a cold smugness with every word he spoke, and his words seemed oddly hollow, as if he'd been reading from a script. Just sitting with him had made Eri's skin crawl, and the grinning shinigami behind him hadn't helped matters.

she walked to the couch and sunk down onto it, staring at the TV without really seeing it and letting her thoughts swirl around her head like leaves in an autumn wind.

'_Light Yagami is Kira.' _

Even with having seen it with her own eyes, it seemed unbelievable. Eri had a plan, but seeing that creature floating behind Light had all but made it evaporate on the spot. She simply couldn't belive that of all the people in the world who could have picked up the Note, it had been him. If it had been anyone else, she felt as if she might have had a chance, but Light… Light was another story. Her friend had always expressed dissatisfaction with the way the legal system handled things, and from the recent death rate, it appeared he'd found a better way. If she knew the powers of the Death Note (and after eight years, she should) Light would never give up the notebook, not now that he was working for a higher purpose.

Eri pressed her face into the arm of the couch and screamed into the fabric, frustration tearing at her insides. She had tried so hard to maintain balance in her life; she was too afraid to give up the Death Note entirely, but she had tried. She hadn't used it since her parent's deaths three years ago, and she had tried to hard to keep everyone in her life uninvolved.

Apparently, gods of death weren't the only forces in the world with a twisted sense of humor.

Uller had seemed to sense her mood and had stayed quiet during the day, engaging only to glare daggers at the cackling shinigami behind Light. But after watching Eri's little meltdown on the couch, it was clear he could no longer hold back his curiosity.

"**So…" **He began, sitting beside her and arranging his long limbs to better fit the couch, "**What do you intend to do now?" **

Eri didn't even bother raising her head before she answered him, making her words come out muffled against the fabric of the couch, "What now? I have no idea. The old plan's no good, I know Light, and I know what the Death Note does to people. From what's been happening with 'Kira' it's pretty obvious what he's using it for, and if I know Light, He wouldn't let anyone get in the way of that, including me." She picked at the fraying arm of the couch, " I didn't want him to get involved in this. I didn't want ANYONE to get involved in this… I guess its kinda hard to keep an eye on someone when you've been focused on yourself for the past eight years."

"**You could still attempt to convince Light Yagami to give up the notebook. If he did so, he would return to normal." **Uller stated simply, as if telling her the sky was blue.

Eri felt her frustration reach its breaking point. "And then what Uller?! In the unlikely event he says yes then it's no big deal, but what if he say no and decides that I'm too much of a liability to leave around?! Light is smarter than me you know, if anyone could figure out the flaw in my little 'loophole'," She tugged at her pendant, " It would be him! So don't tell me what my options are, I only really have two at the moment!"

Pausing in her tirade, she took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair, realizing how tired she truly felt. Uller didn't react to her words other than to look away, so Eri made an effort to lower her voice, trying not to let exhaustion leak into her words.

"I'm- sorry, Uller. That wasn't called for." she sat up fully, leaning forward and trying her best to sound genuinely apologetic. "I just- I'm scared. And I've only really got one plan left. We do nothing. We ignore this for as long as we can, keep our heads down, and wait for something to happen. But until then," She gestured to the TV, "We watch TV. Because I really can't handle anymore insanity right now."

As if the universe had been waiting on a que, the screen suddenly changed to the image of a confused looking reporter. Eri and Uller, distracted by the sudden change in background noise, turned to watch.

"_We'd like to apologize for the interruption; as of now, we are bringing you a live worldwide broadcast from Interpol's ICPO." _

Eri frowned, reaching for the remote to adjust the volume as her heart sank at the thought of more bad news. '_What now?' _

"_We now take you live to live to the ICPO." _

The view changed to that of a stern looking dark-haired man in a sharp suit, the plaque on the desk in front of him read 'Lind L. Tailor'. The man began to speak in a voice that sounded smooth, clear, and almost practiced to Eri's ears.

"_I head up an international police task force which includes all member nations. I am Lind L. Tailor, otherwise known as L." _

Eri felt a spark of recognition at the name, her previous mood giving way to curiosity. '_L… where have I heard that name before? Isn't he some kind of secret detective or something? But what's he doing on a public broadcast?' _She mused, as the man onscreen continued his speech.

"_Criminals around the world are being murdered by a serial killer, I consider this to be the most atrocious act of murder in history. I will not rest until the person or persons responsible are brought to justice. Kira, I will hunt you down, I will find you." _

The man paused, his eyes straying slightly from the camera. Eri felt a twinge of unease at his words, "What's he doing?" she muttered, more to herself then Uller. "Even if he doesn't know anything about the notebook he should know giving out his identity like that is a bad idea… Light's only killed criminals so far, but this guy's just asking for it.."

"_Kira, I've got a pretty good idea of what your motivation might be and I can guess what you hope to achieve; however, what you are doing right now is evil." _Lind L. Tailor paused again, eyes once again fixed on the camera is if staring down the barrel of a gun. After about 30 seconds, Eri began to wonder if the broadcast had ended, and they'd simply forgotten to turn of the cameras, until the next few seconds passed.

Her breath hitched in shock as the man let out a hoarse cry and clutched at his chest, writhing and gasping for breath before his body went limp, and dropped to his desk with a heavy thud.

'_Ok. So maybe it's not just criminals now.' _

Suddenly, the screen changed again, displaying nothing more than the gothic letter 'L' on a field of white. Eri almost forgot to breath as a cool, digitally-altered voice issued from the speakers, tinged with something close to awe.

"_I had to test this just in case, but I never thought it'd actually happen! Kira… It appears you can kill people without having to be there in person. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just witnessed it. Listen to me, Kira. If you did indeed kill Lind L. Tailor, the man you just saw die on television, I should tell you that he was an inmate, whose execution was scheduled for today. That was not me." _

Eri felt her eyes go wide, '_A decoy? Is he serious?' _

"_The police arrested him in absolute secrecy, so you wouldn't have heard about him on TV or through the internet. It appears not even __**you **__have access to these type of criminals. But I assure you; L is real, I __**do **__exist. Now, try to kill me!" _

She felt as if her heart was about to bust out of her chest, it was beating so rapidly. This L guy was clearly crazy, but to provoke a murderer like this…

He was good.

"_What's wrong?" _L taunted, "_Come on, right now, kill me! What are you waiting for, can't you do it? Come on! Try to kill me! What's the matter? Can't you do it?" _

There was a brief pause in the taunts, and Eri wondered if the next thing she'd hear would be his dying gasps, despite the impossibility of Light knowing L's name or face.

The voice continued, a hint of amusement carrying even though the distortion.

"_Well Kira, it seems that you can't kill me after all. So there are some people you can't kill… You've given me a useful hint. Let me return the favor, I'll tell you something I think you'll find interesting: Although this was announced as a worldwide broadcast, the truth is we're really only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan. I had planned to broadcast this message around the world until we found you, but it looks like that won't be necessary. I now know where you are." _

Eri felt herself momentarily possessed with the insane desire to run to Light's house and punch him in the face for being so obvious. Not that she'd have done better, but still...

"_The police treated your first killing as an unrelated incident, but in actuality the first of your victims was a suspect in Shinjuku. Of all the criminals that have recently died of heart attacks, this one's crime was by far the least serious. Furthermore, his crime was only ever reported inside Japan. I used that information to deduce that much: You are in Japan, and your first victim was little more than an experiment, which means you haven't been killing for very long. We decided to broadcast in Kanto first because of its high population, and luckily, we found you. I never expected things to go this well but, it won't be long now before I am able to sentence you to death." _

Eri felt Uller tense beside her at that.

"_Naturally I'm very interested as to how you commit these murders without being present, but… I don't mind waiting a little bit longer. You can answer all of my questions when I catch you. Lets meet again soon, Kira." _

The screen buzzed out.

Eri sat frozen in place, transfixed by his words and what they implied.

Three years.

Three years of normalcy, and security, and knowing her parents had gotten the justice they deserved.

Three years of basic immortality, and now this. Light had a Death Note, he was using it in some god-complex fueled vendetta to rid the world of evil, and now the worlds greatest detective knew where he was. And she was standing in the crossfire, with no options left. Save one.

"Uller?" she nearly whispered, surprised at the steadiness of her own voice. The shinigami nodded, having not removed his burning orange gaze from her since the broadcast had ended.

"I was wrong about waiting. I- I don't think thats an option anymore. If this L guy's as good as he seems, there's a good chance Light will be caught, and I'm too close to him and too involved in all of… this, not to be caught in the fallout when that happens. And even if Light manages to kill L, he's smart. It'll only be a matter of time before he figures out what I am and then- then I don't know what will happen. But I'm not willing to take that chance."

Eri leaned back against the couch, screwing her eyes shut in an attempt to hold back tears of exhaustion and frustration. "I'm not going to die, and I'm not going to prison. But I can live in fear like this, I wont. That's why… I'm going to give up ownership of the Death Note."

Instantly, Uller's eye went wide and he leapt to his feet, towering over Eri and almost frightening her with the look of shock and anger marring his twisted features, "**Eriko, you cannot! Our pact only holds as long as you possess the Death Note, this is more dangerous than simply-" **

"I KNOW THE RULES!" Eri shouted, cutting him off as she leapt to her feet. "But the only way to be safe right now is for me to know nothing! Do you think I'm not scared? My entire personality has been shaped by that thing since I was ten years old! I have no idea who I would be without it! But I'm about to find out because we are officially out of options!"

Uller growled but said nothing, glaring at Eri with an expression she couldn't quite place. So she forged ahead, meeting it head on.

"Give the note to Isuzu, tell her you're my guardian angel or something like that. Just keep the note away from me until Light is caught or this 'L' is dead, whichever comes first. This is the only way, now can you do this for me or not?"

For a moment, Uller seemed as if he was going to refuse, but after several tense moments his head drooped in acquiescence.

"**I will do as you say." **

Eri gave him a bitter smile, reaching into her jacket to remove the pages of the Death Note hidden inside, pressing them into his hand. "Don't be sad 'Mr. Scarecrow'," she said softly, "This has to be resolved one way or another, and I promise, nothing will have try to keep me out of trouble."

Struck by an impulse she hadn't had since childhood, she reached out and wrapped her arms around the shinigami's bandaged torso feeling him stiffen in surprise under her touch.

"I relinquish ownership of the Death Note."

All was blackness.

* * *

_Heres where things start to get a little complicated, but I don't think you guys will have any trouble keeping up:) From here on out, Eri's personality will be different, seeing as who she was was so heavily influenced by the death note before, but I hope you'll find the change interesting. On an added note, I'm looking for a beta reader so if anyone is interested please PM me._

_Thanks to all the people who favorited/followed/commented on this story, your interest keeps me wanting to write. _

_**Tziphora: **__Thank you so much for commenting, I'm glad you're interested in the approach I'm taking, seeing as I was going for something different and I'm not sure people will like it. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter:)_


	4. Interlude, Warned

_Sorry for being so slow on the updates! Tech week for my play got in the way and totally messed with my schedule. This was originally part of chapter three, but it was verging on ridiculously long, so I made it into an interlude, I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Shinigami Uller always liked the rain.

Sure, it was as transient and insubstantial to him as anything else in the human world, but it brought up his few pleasant memories. For example, it was raining the day he met her.

It seemed fitting that it would be raining the day he lost her too.

Eriko had assured him they would see each other again soon, brushing off his concerns on the basis of believing that L and Light were both 'far too smart for their own good' and one was sure to take the other down before too long. Uller hadn't felt nearly so sure.

But more then that, he wondered who it was that would wake up tomorrow with her face. Eriko had possessed the Death Note for almost eight years, and it had shaped her personality as much as any other experiences she may have had. Uller realized that he had no idea who she would be without it, or what she would do, but he didn't think _she_ had realized it yet. The Eriko Yamazaki who possessed the Note was manipulative, calculating, and selfish, but she was a certainty, and that had made him comfortable. Losing that certainty… made things difficult.

Uller shook his head, dislodging the raindrops that had gathered on the brim of his hat. There wasn't time to ponder the millions of things that could go wrong with Eriko's 'Plan'; he had to make sure she would be safe.

Upon having that thought, he lept from the top of the office building he'd been perched against and took off into the rainswept night, his single, bedraggled wing accusing him to lurch to-and-fro like a drunken raven. Even as his meager pace, it didn't take him long to locate the Yagami house among the countless buildings of Kanto; he'd been there plenty of times with Eriko, and it was easy to find his way by memory. Upon reaching the house, he passed through one of the upper walls and into Light Yagami's bedroom, causing the other otherworldly inhabitant of the room to jump in surprise.

"**Wha?!- Oh, hey Uller, long time no see. You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that though, you might give someone a heart attack *hyuk hyuk*." **Ryuk chuckled at his own joke, recovering from the scare Uller had given him and rising to float a few inches off the ground in an effort to make himself the same height as the taller shinigami.

"**Quiet Ryuk!" **Uller growled lowly, "**Do not wake him." **

Ryuk scratched his head with a long, clawed finger, "**Huh? Oh, you mean Light? Don't worry, he hardly gets any sleep these days so when he's out, he's REALLY out." **His ever present harlequin grin stretched wider, "**What happened to you anyway? Have you really been following that girl around for the past eight years? 'Cause that sounds really boring…" **

He produced and apple seemingly out of nowhere and shoved it, core and all, into his gaping mouth. Uller almost couldn't believe he'd forgotten how much he disliked Ryuk, but despite his feelings about the other shinigami, he pressed on, orange eye narrowing in annoyance.

"**You want to know why I'm here?" **

Ryuk swallowed and shrugged. "**Yeah, a little, but I figured you'd tell me no matter what so why waste time asking when I could be eating apples? Now either tell me why you're here or leave 'cause you're starting to freak me out." **

"**I need you to promise me something."** Uller said flatly.

Ryuk burst out laughing at that, causing Uller to cast a tense glance over to the bed, but Light merely groaned and shifted slightly in his sleep. "You can't be serious. What could you possibly want from me? And more importantly, why should I care?"

Uller felt his patience snap. His hand snaked out and caught Ryuk in a vice-like grip around his throat, abruptly cutting off his gravely chuckles. His eyes widened in shock as the patchwork shinigami leaned in close and fixed him with a furious glare.

"**As of now, Eriko has relinquished ownership of the Death Note. You will promise me not to reveal any knowledge of her involvement or my presence to Light Yagami, or I will not hesitate to kill him and you. That is why I am here, Ryuk. Do you understand?" **

Ryuk phased out of Uller's grasp and reappeared a few feet away, rubbing his neck and glaring at him, "**Fine! I get it I get it don't tell on the human you've been stalking for the past eight years, Sheesh! " **He shot Uller a look of confusion (at least, he thought that was what it was, it was hard to tell with Ryuk sometimes). "**You were always boring, Uller but you never used to be so weird. Did you catch some weird human thing hanging around that girl for so long?" **

"**Don't try to understand my motivations Ryuk. I dont try to comprehend yours." **

"**Fine"** He replied, mouth stretching into a sharp grin, "**I wasnt planning on telling him anyway, its much more fun to watch him get mad when he figures things out on his own. Now, was there anything else you wanted to growl at me about? Or are you done?" **

"**No." **

"**Good because-"** Before Ryuk could say another word, Uller had phased through the wall and back out into the night. As he did, Ryuk grabbed another apple and floated casually over to the window, chewing thoughtfully as he watched the dark shape fly off into the rain, lurching as it did.

"**So THATS where he's been," **Ryuk chuckled, eyes shining yellow-red in the darkened room. "**Heh, this is going to be sooo interesting…" **

* * *

_He can be kind of a jerk but I like Uller, he really does just wanna help:) and as for Ryuk... well, who DOESN'T love him._


	5. Chapter Three, Dormant

_And without further ado, I present chapter three! I hope you like it, you guys have certainly waited long enough:) _

* * *

When Eri awoke the next morning, she realized she hadn't dreamed. Not once, the entire night, something that hadn't happened since she was a kid. Watery sunlight was filtering in through the window and casting a dim glow about the room, just bright enough so she was unlikely to crack her shin on anything on the way to the dresser. Realizing this, she groaned and extracted herself from the warm cocoon of blankets to stumble across the room and begin putting on her uniform. As she looped her hair into its customary style she glanced back at the clock on her bedside table, the blinking letters read 6:15.

'_I've GOT to start getting more sleep, school's bad enough without falling asleep on your desk because you wouldn't shut off the computer when it went past midnight… Speaking of..." _She turned and walked to her desk, turning on her computer and settling down. '_Lets see what's new...' _

Much to her annoyance, the answer seemed to be a resounding "nothing". Eri felt a twinge of disappointment, after the Lind L. Tailor broadcast last night, she was sure they'd have seen some form of reaction or retaliation from Kira, but he was either biding his time or the media wasn't covering it. Sure, there were lots of opinions on the Kira-related blogs and forums, but the value of the opinions of anonymous people glorifying a serial killer was less than zero from an investigative standpoint.

She groaned and leaned forward to rest her chin against her hand, her eyes flickering over the words on the screen without really reading them. '_I should ask Light if he could access his dads files on the case, he's done it before.' _She brushed her fingers through her bangs, '_Or I could just ask Mr. Yagami, he did let Light and I help out on that insurance fraud murder case… though this MIGHT be considered a little different." _

Eri really couldn't help herself. Despite the obvious danger and seriousness of the situation, this 'Kira Case' was the biggest case to happen in years, and she had to admit, it made her a little excited, and a lot intrigued. The fact that the world's greatest detective was now officially on the case might have also contributed to her interest… just a little.

More out of boredom then any expectations for results, she opened a new tab and typed in "L". The initial results were mainly useless, so she adjusted the search to "L detective".

There were a lot of results talking about last night's broadcast, as well as a few articles from older cases, Eraldo Coil, the Los Angeles murders, and the like, but little to no information on the detective himself. And not a single photo besides the gothic black L. The guy was obviously a recluse, but considering how many people probably wanted him dead, Eri figured he could be forgiven for keeping out of the public eye.

As she scrolled down one of the Coil articles, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Taking it out revealed a txt from momoka, and caused her to realize she had seven other txts and four missed calls, all from her hyperactive friend.

"_Eri! Flippin' answer your phone! I've been calling u since last night! Why aren't u answering me?!"_

"_Sorry Momo, guess I went to bed early. What's up?" _

"_That'd better be a joke, didn't you see that crazy broadcast?" _

"_Ya but since I'm not Kira, I didn't feel the need to stress over it." _

"_I can't freak out at you properly like this! R u walking to school yet? _

"_Not yet, Y?" _

"_I'll come over so we can walk together, be there in 10." _

Eri was about to argue but stopped, it was no use arguing with Momoka on stuff like this, and she did want to she her friend.

"_K, see you in 10." _

Eri smiled and switched off her computer, leaving her bedroom and entering to find her aunt was not in her usual place at the kitchen table. Instead, there was a note, written in her customary shaky handwriting

Out of breakfast cereal and peaches, went to the market to pick up some more. Please call if you'll be in late tonight.

_-Isuzu _

Eri was puzzled, usually, she did all the shopping and her aunt hardly noticed they ran out of anything. But she supposed there was a first time for everything… She just hoped Isuzu would be able to find her way back safely, her aunt could be so absent minded.

Somehow, despite the strange start to the day and the presence of a mass serial killer in Kanto, she felt… good. Excited, almost. If a bit confused by the cereal thing, since as far as she knew, neither she nor her aunt ever ate any of it. But this Kira thing, now THAT was interesting. She'd helped Light solve a few cases for the NPA before, but something like this… It was definitely worth looking into, even if she could only observe.

A sharp knock at the door jolted her out of her daydreaming. She crossed to the door and had almost reached the knob before it sprung open with a bang, revealing a broadly-grinning momoka, who promptly grabbed her and began dragging her down the front walk.

"Oh good, you're ready to go! I figured you might have gone back to bed, you really need more sleep like, really bad. But that's not important! Did you see that broadcast last night?! How insane was that! I thought for sure that L guy was dead but then- wow. Just, wow. I cant imagine the balls it takes to do something like that. Just- wow." Momoka paused for breath and stopped abruptly, causing Eri to nearly crash into her back as she did.

"So," she began, eye's gleaming as she leaned in conspiratorially, "Tell me everything you know so far! I'm dying to hear what you've got."

Eri felt utterly lost for several moments, unbalanced by her friend's sudden expectation that she participate in the conversation. Finally, she decided on the answer she deemed least-likely to make her look stupid.

"Momo, that broadcast happened literally hours ago. What exactly do you think I could have figured out in that time?"

Momoka's smile was quickly replaced by her usual pout, " C'mon Eri! I know you. I'm willing to bet you jumped online the minute that broadcast cut out; are you telling me you couldn't find anything?"

For a split second, Eri wasn't sure WHAT she'd done after the broadcast. She had the impression she'd gone to bed early but it all seemed very… vague, somehow. She realized Momoka was staring at her with a look some where between concern and confusion and tugged distractedly at her bangs, shaking off the strange feeling.

"No, I went to bed early last night. Too much to process all at once, you know?"

"I guess," Momoka replied slowly, "But you're still interested right? I mean, this isn't the kind of opportunity someone who wants to be a detective or whatever passes up. You should at least ask Light's dad for any info he has on the case, that is, if you haven't already been using those passwords Light gave you to get into the police files."

Eri had to stop herself from looking guilty at that; she really did tell her friend far too much.

Momoka was partially right though, this wasn't an opportunity she wanted to pass up. And while Mr. Yagami would probably tell her to stay out of it, Light might be a different story… It couldn't hurt to try.

"I'll tell you what Momo," she began, feeling a mischievous smile creep on to her face, "I'm not planning to get _too_ involved in this, thats not my style. But I do want to help if I can, so if I find out anything you'll be one of the first to know, ok?"

Momoka seemed surprised at the teasing edge to Eri's voice. Not surprising in and of itself, seeing as she hadn't exactly been a barrel of laughs since her parents deaths. But Eri couldn't help but feel something was different about today. New. It felt a good a time as any to cheer up a bit, if only to get Momoka to stop badgering her.

The change in her attitude seemed to through her friend off, but being who she was, she quickly recovered a let out a short laugh, hooking her arm with Eri's. "Ok, deal. But what's with the upbeat attitude? There's a serial killer loose you know."

"I don't know… guess I just feel good today."

* * *

To her surprise, Eri found Light fairly quickly as the day went on. Which as it turned out was lucky, considering that while everyone was eager to talk about Kira, very few of them had anything useful to say. After scouring the halls and classrooms, she finally found him during lunch break.

Light was having lunch in one of the empty classrooms when Eri caught up with him, eating with one hand and writing with the other. He didn't notice as she entered the room, his brown eyes fixed on the paper and narrowed in concentration. She crept up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes.

"Guess who!"

Light frowned, "Eri, I really don't have time for this today, I've got studying to do." He batted her hands away, refusing to look up from his work as he did.

Eri frowned at the forced politeness of her friend's tone, but refused to be put off, sitting down in an empty desk beside him and staring resolutely until he seemed to realize she wasn't going to leave and glanced up with poorly concealed irritation.

"Eri, I'm being serious, this if for the To-oh entrance exam which we should _both_ really be studying for. So unless you have something important to tell me-"

Eri cut him off with a wave of her hand, " Oh stop it. You know full well you'll ace that exam without even trying, and you know exactly what I want to talk about so don't try to blow me off. You know I hate it when you do that." She smiled and leaned forward excitedly, causing Light to draw back in surprise. "This Kira thing, your dad's in charge of it, right?"

Light nodded slowly, "Yes, but I'm not sure I see what you're getting at."

Eri almost rolled her eyes, It was like he was being intentionally dense! "Light, you and I want to be detectives someday soon, and this case is already huge! And with your dad working on it we'd already know way more than almost anyone."

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"I mean, we should ask your dad if we can help on the case. We've done it before, and if he says no we could always just follow along with what they find. The world's greatest detective is on this case Light, its a huge opportunity for us to see the real thing in action." Eri attempted her best 'please' face, "Please? He'll never say yes if I ask and you know it, he thinks I'm made of glass or something, but he also thinks the sun rises and sets because of you so-"

"No." Light said bluntly, cutting off her pleading as effectively as a slammed door in her face. He had returned his attention to his writing, but it was clear he wasn't focused. His eyes were glittering with an emotion Eri couldn't quite place, and his fingers were clasping the pen hard enough to blanch his knuckles.

Eri was affronted, but pressed onward. This wasn't the first time she'd had trouble convincing Light of something, and it wasn't likely to be the last. "Why not? Don't tell me you're not interested because we both know that's a lie."

Light let out a long-suffering sigh and adopted a tone as if he were speaking to a small child, "Because, interested or not you have no business interfering in a homicide investigation Eri. And why do you suddenly even care so much? The killings have been happening well over a week and you've just now brought it up so I think it's highly unlikely you intend to do anything about it. You're not a police officer or a criminal so I don't see how pursuing this and bothering me has a point."

Eri felt a flash of anger rise in her, but managed to quell it before she said something she'd regret; she was trying to get Light's help, after all. Even if he insisted upon being an ass about it.

"I care," She said slowly, "Because people are dying, Light. You and I have experience no one else in our age group has, I'm sure if we work together we could help! What if Kira was someone in our age group? We could be an incredible asset to the NPA. And even if we just helped a little bit we'd be doing something good, right?"

Light regarded her with a placid smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and she felt indigence form at the lack of reaction from her friend.

"Come on Light!" She said, gritting her teeth as her voice came uncomfortably close to begging, "Incase you hadn't realized, this is sort of a big deal for me! And I feel like it should be for you too."

For a while, Light was silent, seemingly pondering whether her idea merited a response. Finally, he smiled one of his usual charming smiles, the one reserved for the girls that always swarmed him when he was trying to placate them. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Eri, listen, I understand why this could be important to you, trust me, I get it. But this is a serious matter, and I think that the best thing that we can do right now is let the police do their jobs. Eventually, I'm sure Kira will make a mistake and then its only a matter of time before he gets executed, there's no need to get involved where your presence isn't necessary or wanted. I know what happened with your parents made you sensitive to stuff like this but, really, this is going a little far."

Eri had to clench her fists to keep her temper in check, feeling her nails dig half-moons into her palms as she did. "This has nothing to do with my parents! This is about the people that are dying right now, people that we could help!" she glared at him, crossing her arms, "Seriously, did you hit your head recently and not tell me or do you genuinely not care?"

Light rubbed his palms against his eyes and shook his head, "Now you're just being unreasonable." He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though you've always been fairly level headed, at least for a wo-"

"Light Yagami! If you finish that sentence I _will _punch that condescending look right off your face." She hissed, cutting him off and drawing away with a poisonous glare.

Light seemed to realize what he'd said and backtracked rapidly, "Eri, you know I just meant-"

It was no good, Eri had had quite enough for one day. Sure, she was fully aware how Light felt, but usually he was smart enough to keep it under wraps, which kept _him_ bearable. For some reason, his filter seemed to be off today.

"I know exactly what you meant Light, but I'd have figured you were smart enough not to say it to my face."

She turned on her heel and stalked from the room, one hand tugging at her bangs hard enough she thought she might have pulled some hair out. She didn't bother to turn when Light called after her.

"Eri! This is ridiculous; where are you even going?"

"To class!" she shouted back, "I need to be somewhere where my friend hasn't decided to be a chauvinistic jerk. I'll do this without you if I have to Light, just do me a favor and don't talk to me for a while."

She stalked out into the nearly empty halls, startling a group of freshmen girls as she did and ignoring her surroundings in favor of her anger, which was a much nicer focus then the annoyingly persistent feeling of hurt lingering in the wake of her friends words.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur of angry thoughts and muttering, with Eri's former good mood entirely destroyed by her unfortunate interaction with Light. Honestly, she didn't understand how it had escalated to the point it did. Light was often reluctant to go along with her on things but he'd never been so openly dismissive, and she had to admit, it was a bit of a shock.

Luckily, she managed to avoid him for the rest of the day, which for her consisted of glaring openly at anyone and everyone who made eye contact and doodling the the margins of her paper until the clock ran out. When it finally did, she left the school as quickly as possible and opted to take the long way home through the downtown area, the better to avoid anyone who for some bizarre reason would want to talk to an obviously furious girl.

It seemed like a good idea at first, but several blocks of keeping her head down and her thoughts firmly away from a certain someone later, she looked up to realize she didn't recognize any of the buildings around her.

'_Great…' _

She was definitely lost. Not terribly so, but she didn't think she'd ever seen the hotel she was currently standing in front of before. Eri was beginning to wonder if she was navigationally challenged, she did seem to run off and get lost when she got upset.

That thought brought her back to _why _she was so angry in the first place.

She grit her teeth in frustration and sat down on one of the low benches near the entrance to the hotel, lowering her head into her hands and going over her interaction with Light in her head, becoming steadily angrier as she did. She'd expected resistance on Light's part, not flat out refusal.

"_This Kira thing is making everyone so weird...' _She thought dully, glaring at the busy street as if her mood was somehow its fault. '_Stupid Light. How am I supposed to do anything without him?' _

Eri couldn't deny his indifference had hurt. Light was her friend, despite his opinions and how annoyingly right he was all the time. But he'd never just- dismissed her like that. She wasn't completely sure how to process it.

"Arrrrrre you ok?"

Eri jumped in surprise, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process as a low, semi-monotone voice emanated from her right.

Embarrassed to have been caught so off-guard, she tugged at her bangs and turned to find a dark-haired young man had sat down beside her on the bench, and was no regarding her with an expression that suggested she was a mildly interesting animal he was debating whether or not to approach.

He was one of the strangest people Eri had ever seen, and considering who she lived with, that was saying something. He was pale, with wide, dark eyes that were ringed with dark bruises, making him look tired despite the alertness of his gaze. His messy dark hair and baggy clothing made it seem as if he'd just gotten out of bed, and he wasn't wearing any shoes.

But what really caught her attention was the odd way he was sitting on the bench. He was perched on the edge, with his feet tucked under him and his knees nearly level with his chin. He had pressed his thumb against his bottom lip and was toying with it, continuing to stare at her as the silence that followed his question stretched on.

It took Eri almost a full minute to realize he was waiting for her to answer him. She mustered what dignity she could after almost falling into the street and flashed him a hollow smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bad day, you know? Things are pretty weird right now…"

The man's lip quirked slightly, giving her the impression she'd inadvertently said something funny. He nibbled lightly on the edge of his thumbnail, distracting Eri so that she almost didn't hear his next words.

"Do you always sit outside hotel's when you've had a bad day? Orrrr was it just for convenience sake?"

Eri felt a flash of irritation, stemming partially from her wounded pride at having been so easily sunk up on and partially from the amused edge to his voice. It was pretty obvious from the way he was half-smirking or whatever that he knew she was lost, and being the source of some panda-eyed weirdo's amusement wasn't really improving her mood. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him, do her best to look like someone who wasn't worth bothering.

"Fine, so I might be a little bit lost. What's your excuse? Do you just like to sneak up on people?"

The man shrugged and bit the tip of his thumb pensively, "I didn't sneak up on you, you just weren't paying attention." His words came out slightly muffled.

Eri almost cracked a smile, and was forced to bit the inside of her cheek to keep from doing so. "I guess you've got me there…"

She sat down heavily on the bench beside him and extended a hand, her lip quirking at the surprise on his face as she did. "Lets start over, maybe at the part where we introduce ourselves like normal people? I'm Eri Yamazaki, and I'm out here because my jerk of a best friend pissed me off so badly I ran off like a child and got lost, and you are...?"

The man eyed her proffered hand as if unsure what to do with it at first, but eventually extended his thumb and index finger and gave it an experimental shake, making Eri stifle a giggle at the strangeness of the action.

"I'm Hideki Ryuga, and I'm out here because my handler insisted I get 'At least twenty minutes of fresh air and sunlight'." He reached into his pocket and removed an handful of brightly wrapped candies, selecting three for himself and offering the rest to her with with large, expectant eyes. "Want one? I find they're really the best way to clear your head in difficult situations."

She was pretty sure there was something her aunt had once mumbled to her about not taking candy from strangers (because they might be demons- or was it ghosts?), but she found it difficult to refuse that big dark stare, no matter how unnerving it was. She took one and popped it into her mouth, tasting a burst of strawberry as she did.

"Thanks- wait, handler? You mean your dad or something?'

Hideki shrugged, his weird half-smile tugging at his lips, "Something like that, yes." He cocked his head, extenuating his almost childlike manner. "Soooo… what happened with your friend?"

Eri felt her the beginnings of a good mood fizzle at the reminder. "Why do _you_ care?"

He unwrapped another candy, "As I said my- father, won't let me back inside until at least twenty minutes have passed, and from what I've deduced about this building in the past ten, its unlikely I could find another way in, not to mention unsafe. In other words, I've got time so, why not?"

He gave the candy an experimental lick and stared at her expectantly.

Eri felt as if she wanted to argue, but something told her this guy was good at getting people to talk to him. She sighed in resignation and leaned back against the bench. "Fine, I guess I do too, and I'd probably feel better telling someone about it. You've heard about this 'Kira' thing, right?"

Hideki nodded slowly, his thumb once again pressed against his lips.

"Well my friend and I want to be detectives someday, so I thought that we should investigate a bit, just to keep up with what was going on and make our own deductions on it you know?" She grimaced, "He wasn't exactly enthralled by the idea…"

"Ish' he uh Kira shupporter?" Hideki mumbled through a mouthful of candy.

Eri actually laughed at the ludicrousness of that idea. "No, nothing like that. He said some things, I said some things, I guess I _may_ have over reacted a bit…" She tugged sheepishly at her bangs. "'Doesn't change the fact he was being an ass about it; I just… maybe he's right. This case is pretty serious and its really none of my business anyway."

"Some people spend their lives being in peoples business." Hideki said, in a low enough mumble She almost didn't hear him. "Not that you should go running off looking for a serial killer, that would be foolish, considering no one knows exactly HOW he kills. Still, I'm sure you could come up with a few, interesting theories…" he tailed off and picked at the fraying edge of his jeans.

"I take it you already have a few of your own?" She replied, partially as a joke, and partially as a challenge.

He shrugged, not looking up from his task, "A few, yes. Most still need a bit of work."

Almost in spite of herself, Eri found she was beginning to like this guy. And if nothing else, his appearance had certainly taken her mind of the fiasco with Light earlier.

"Are you going to tell me what those theories are? Or just act like you didn't say anything?"

"Hm? Oh look, my twenty minutes are almost up."

She cracked a smile, rising from the bench and moving to stand in front of him. "Ok, I see how it is. But I have to admit, as cliched as that 'Some people' line was, I weirdly feel a little better."

"Glad I could help"

Hideki stood, and she noticed he remained in a slightly hunched-over position even while standing, which put them on nearly equal height. He glanced back at the hotel, running a hand through his disheveled ebony hair.

"I should really get back… I'm almost out of candy and I think Watari has a cake upstairs." He muttered distractedly. Eri glanced down at her watch and nodded.

"I have to get home anyway, my aunt will probably forget to eat dinner again if I'm not there."

He shot her a look of mild confusion, "I thought you were lost?"

Eri grinned and held up the wrapper to one of the candies he'd given her. "Nah, I remember now. You were right about that whole 'helping to clear your head' thing."

He looked surprised for a moment,as if not sure she was serious. Finally, he offered her a brief, genuine smile.

"I'm often right."

Eri rolled her eyes, 'I can tell." She turned towards the street and started off,pausing briefly to turn back and call out behind her; "Enjoy your cake Ryuga, and, thanks. For talking to me, I mean."

As she walked down the street and out of sight and earshot, she failed to hear his softly muttered reply of "Your welcome."

He watched her retreating form until she was out of sight, then gingerly removed a sleek, black cellphone, dialing a number and holding it between his index finger and thumb, raising his other hand to his mouth to nibble at the nail.

"Watari, please bring up the files on all deceased members of the NPA in the last ten years, I have a theory I would like to confirm."

* * *

Several days after meeting and subsequently forgetting about the strange man she'd met in front of the hotel, Eri received her first world from Light since their fight in the form of a voicemail:

"_Eri, I'm sorry about what I said the other day, but let me make it up to you. We haven't been to Spaceland in a couple of years, so how about we go on saturday, like old times? Let me know if you're up for it._

…..

_Well there you have it, Eri's changed more than she probably anticipated and we get a first look at everyone's favorite panda-eyed detective! I just hope I did a good job of keeping him in character, he can be a challenge to write:\ I hope you liked the new chapter and as always, please let me know what you think:) _

_**twilightamanda: **__I know exactly how you feel, part of me wanted to do that exact thing but I couldn't mess up the balance I'm trying to create. It definitely would have been interesting though…. _

_**Tziphora: **__Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, I was gonna hold back on L for a bit but even __**I **__was getting a little impatient with my long winded scene-setting. _

_**delahwly: **__I hope she didn't disappoint, thanks for your review:) _


	6. Chapter Four, Hijacked

_I am soooooo sorry about the long wait between updates! Between school, drama competition, and my computer taking a nosedive I've found it really hard to update in a timely manner, so I hope this next chapter makes up for it:) _

…..

"So this isn't like- a date, or anything right? 'Cause that would make it a little weird for both of us, not gonna lie..." Eri said, laughing awkwardly and casting a sideways glance at Light. He rolled his eyes indulgently and gave her a warm smile.

"No Eri, it's not a date, just an apology day out for a friend. Though I have to say, I'm a little hurt by your reluctance."

Despite his words, Light's eyes were teasing. Eri grinned and reached over to punch him in the arm, attempting and failing to pout convincingly enough to add any real venom behind her words. "You're on thin ice already Light so watch it! Just because we're going to Spaceland doesn't mean I'm _quiiiite _ready to forgive you… Some cotton candy might make it easier though…"

He laughed and Eri felt some of her unease dissipate in the wake of the familiar sound. She'd been reluctant to accept her friend's invitation at first, but eventually her long-standing friendshipy-feelings had won out over any misgivings over their last face-to-face conversation. And with Light acting more like himself, she had to admit, she'd missed him. It wasn't easy to stay mad at someone as effortlessly charming as Light Yagami, even if she'd had practice over the years.

They stood together in the relative solitude of the bus stop, the chilly december sunlight dappling their backs and the air making their breath steam as each searched for something to say. Even if Eri had technically forgiven Light for what he'd said, the leftover tension was present, underlying almost every word and action. They hadn't discussed the Kira Case or their fight other than to apologize, but it hung like a faint specter over the otherwise pleasant day.

Eri leaned back, bracing herself against the signpost for the bus stop and shaking off infringing negative thoughts. Light had apologized and she'd accepted, end of story. There was no reason to spoil the first day out with her best friend she'd had in… well, in a long time anyway. Besides, she hadn't been to Spaceland in years, and she was willing to bet she could still eat more cotton candy then Light.

"So what brought this on?" She asked, "I mean, we're both almost in university. Not that I'm complaining, but I figured you'd rather be studying for the entrance exams or something."

He shrugged, "I may not always agree with you Eri, but you _are_ my best friend, and I wanted to make it up to you for the way I acted the other day, I wasn't exactly feeling like myself." He smirked slightly, "This should help though, remember the last time we went on a trip to Spaceland?"

Eri wrinkled her nose at the memory, "And I threw up on the Lunar-Coster? How could I forget?"

"I'm sure that won't happen this time."

"You'd better hope 'cause if it does happen I can't guarantee you'll escape un-candyfied."

"I think I'll take my chances Eri, I mean, it has been almost 8 years." He said, smiling and giving her shoulder a familiar squeeze. He gestured for her to follow as the bus pulled up, projecting an aura of calm and normalcy as the took their seats near the back that Eri found strangely comforting.

She hadn't given up on the Kira Case, if anything, the strange encounter by the hotel had only reinvigorated her interest. But, with little to no information besides the names of the dead, she'd become a little disheartened. Now, sitting with her friend on a public bus bound for an amusement park of all things, life felt almost normal. Or as normal as it could be with a serial killer in Kanto and the strange behavior from almost everyone lately.

The trip passed relatively uneventfully, with a few passengers boarding or getting off at random intervals. They passed the time talking about anything that came to mind (with the exception of anything Kira related) or sitting in companionable silence. Eri suspected Light may just have been going along with this whole trip to indulge her, considering how frequently he glanced at his watch when he thought she wasn't looking. Still, it was a nice gesture.

She eventually managed to persuade him into a game of 'Never Have I Ever', (which wasn't as fun as it could have been, considering how well they both knew each other) that distracted her enough so she didn't notice when a scruffy, haggard-looking man boarded the bus.

That is, until he pulled out a gun.

At first, Eri wasn't certain what exactly it was the man had taken from his coat, but when he pressed it roughly against the drivers temple, it became all too clear.

"STAY IN YOUR SEATS UNLESS YOU WANNA DIE!"

Instantly, everything was sent into sharp relief; the gun, the passengers, Light's hand, tense on her shoulder. A few people let out screams that were quickly stifled by a murderous look from the hijacker, and Eri thought she could hear an elderly woman a few seats in front of them start to cry.

Eri felt a familiar panic rise in her throat, the old fear bubbling up and threatening to overwhelm her before she felt a brief squeeze on her shoulder. She cautiously flicked her gaze to Light, whose face was schooled in a mask of perfect clarity and control, brown eyes lit with calm reassurance, signaling to stay calm without words. She gave him the smallest of nods, trying to tramp down on the fear that writhed like a snake in her stomach.

The hijacker was yelling something over the phone about a ransom for the passengers, his eyes wide and bloodshot as spittle flew from his mouth on every other word. The other passengers were either riveted by the scene or screwing their eyes shut in fear, but Eri kept her attention tunnel visioned on Light, using her friend like an anchor against the storm raging around them.

Light casually flicked his eyes down, and she followed his gaze to find his other hand pulling a scrap of paper and pencil from his pocket, bracing it against his leg and scratching out a cramped message as covertly as possible amid the chaos.

_Eri, don't be scared. When he turns around I'm going to grab the gun out of his hand. _

Eri gave him a look that conveyed as much disbelief and negativity as one could while paralyzed with fear for your life. "_Are you crazy?!" _She hissed, "_This is not the time to play h-" _

"_Don't be foolish, that's way too dangerous. Just stay in your seats and I'll take care of it." _

An accented voice murmured from the seat behind them, making Eri jump and Light tense almost imperceptibly. Eri turned her head slightly to see a dark haired man in a long black coat leaning forward in his seat, his pale blue-grey eyes projecting an aura of control that rivaled Light's own, starkly contrasted against the fear of the other passengers. She and light leaned in closer as he jerked his head towards the hijacker.

"_Don't worry, as long as we whisper he won't hear us over the engines." _

"_How do we know we can trust you?"_ Light said slowly, careful to keep his voice below the steady thrum of the bus.

Eri shot him a quizzical look, "_What?" _

Light glared suspiciously at the man. "_I've heard about this, one hijacker takes on the bus while his accomplice waits it out in the back incase something goes wrong." _

Irritation flared through her mind; Light's paranoia was doing nothing for her nerves.

The man hesitated for a moment, as if mulling over a momentous decision before reaching into the pocket of his coat and withdrawing a slim, black wallet and extending it to Light. Her friend flipped it open, revealing FBI credentials that reassured and confused Eri at the same time, but hostages couldn't be choosers. She could have sworn she'd seen Light's expression change for a fraction of a second as they examined the wallet's contents, but he handed it back before she could be sure.

"_Ok, I believe you. What's your plan?" _

The man, Raye Penber, as his FBI ID had identified him, leaned in. "_First, don't panic, I'll-" _

Suddenly, a scrap of crumpled paper fell from Light's pocket. Muttering a soft curse he reached down slowly to retrieve it without drawing any attention to himself. Unfortunately, the hijacker, who had formerly been pacing menacingly near the front of the bus, picked that exact moment to be looking right at him.

"HEY, KID! I SAID DON'T MOVE!"

He stomped over, brandishing his gun uncomfortably close to Light's head. His beady eyes took in the paper suspiciously as he swiped it from the floor and read its contents, snorting in disgust and tossing it back at Light as he did.

"Plans for a date huh? Stupid kid…" He turned and stalked back towards the front of the bus, pausing here and there to brandish the gun at the cowering passengers. Despite her fear, Eri shot Light a pointed look, which he answered with one of his own that clearly said 'We'll-talk- about-it-later'. Considering the circumstances, she decided it was best not to press the matter.

Raye Penber was silent until the hijacker had moved out of earshot, waiting until he was relatively sure there would be no more interruptions. Even if Eri hadn't known for sure he was FBI, she felt she could have guessed by the way he acted now. He opened his mouth to speak, but before the first syllable crossed his lips he was cut off by a terrified cry:

"WHAT THE HELL!?

The hijacker had turned and was now staring wild-eyed at the empty space of the aisle, his hands shaking and his knuckles bone white against the handle of his raised gun. He brandished it towards the back of the bus as if trying to ward off some kind of attacker, but the effect was ruined somewhat by how quickly he was backing away from- whatever it was he thought he saw.

"D-don't m-mess with m-me! How long have you been hiding back there?!"

Eri's heart pounded hard enough she thought it might break her ribs, the sick fear of earlier having returned in full force at the suddenly charged atmosphere of the bus. She'd seen first hand what people suffering hallucinations were like, and that was bad enough, but this, this was entirely different. This situation was a million times more serious than anything she knew about. Now was the time, if any, to make a grab for his gun; but she felt rooted to her seat, transfixed by the shouting match the man appeared to be having with thin air. Light and Penber must have felt the same, because neither of them moved a muscle.

The hijacker was trembling now, stumbling backwards but still managing to keep his gun level with the buses' back window. "KEEP AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed desperately as he fired randomly into the bus in an attempt to stop his imaginary assailant.

The back window and several side windows cracked or shattered on impact, several people screamed, and Eri jerked back with a cry at a sharp, burning sensation across her cheekbone. Light gripped the back of her neck and pulled her down behind the cover of the seat in front of them, "Eri! Are you alright?!"

She nodded shakily, pressing her fingertips to the smarting patch on her cheek, the smell of gunpowder thick in her nose.

The hijacker was yelling frantically at the bus driver to stop the bus and in seconds it screeched to a halt, jolting the passengers forward and adding the smell of burning rubber to the chaos around them. Dropping his gun, he scrambled through the doors and out into the open street like death itself was chasing him.

There was a terrible screech of tires, a heavy thud, and silence.

Several minutes passed before anyone had the courage to move. Unsurprisingly, Raye Penber was first, standing quickly and exiting the bus with Light and Eri close behind. Upon stepping out into the street, Eri could see the body of the hijacker crumpled on his side in a gently seeping pool of blood. There was a man standing close by on the phone, probably the driver of the car that had hit him, if the man's chalky face and slightly hysterical tone where anything to go by. Cautiously, all three slowly approached the body until the man's face, still twisted in an expression of horror and shock, was clearly visible. Eri felt an unpleasant swooping sensation in her gut as realization dawned on her.

"Light…" She said, her voice still shaking slightly, " T-this guy, didn't he try to rob a bank or something a couple of days ago?"

He stepped closer to the body, mindful of the ever growing pool of blood. "Yeah, I think he did. Some junky that got away. Why, does it matter?"

"No, I… I guess it doesn't. Not now." Eri wrenched her eyes away for the body, feeling nauseated. "Can we- can we just go? Please?"

Penber, who they'd both nearly forgotten about upon seeing the body, nodded. "That would probably be for the best, you should get that looked at." He gestured to Eri's cheek. Suddenly, his demeanor changed, taking on an almost embarrassed air. "Listen carefully, I came to japan as part of a secret investigation so the local police can't find out that I- um- that I-"

"We understand" Light said quickly, placing a firm hand on Eri's shoulder. " You dont have to worry, as far as anyone knows, we never saw you."

Penber gave them a strained smile.

….

"Ow! OW! What are you using bleach?!

"Stop being such a baby. It's alcohol and you need it on your face, not in your eye, so hold still."

They'd returned to Light's house after Eri had refused a trip to the hospital to deal with the wound on her cheek, and she was beginning to regret the decision, at least there they might have numbed her before dabbing acid on her face.

After managing to dodge questions from Light's mother and Sayu about why they were back so early, they managed to escape to the upstairs bathroom, whereupon Light had insisted she let him take a look at her cheek. After a lot of stubbornness on her part and a lot of coaxing on his, Eri had reluctantly agreed.

"It barely grazed you, just enough to give you a pretty nasty burn and a gunpowder mark." Light muttered softly.

Smiling weakly, Eri tugged at the burnished bronze pendant at her throat, "Lucky necklace strikes again, it always helps with that fraction that makes a difference."

Light answered with a short, humorless laugh. "Maybe, but I wouldn't put that much faith in it where your life is concerned."

He rubbed the alcohol soaked cloth harder against her cheek, making her wince and grit her teeth against the sting. "Ow! Watch it, I still need that skin."

He frowned, drawing back the cloth and lightly tracing the mark with his fingertips. "The gunpowder's pretty ingrained, I don't think scrubbing is going to get rid of it."

"It's fine, you know the old saying; 'chicks dig scars, guys dig gunpowder burns'."

"I'm pretty sure thats not the saying."

"Says you."

Light sighed and ran a hand through his chestnut hair. "Listen; I'm sorry Spaceland didn't work out, guess I'll just have to come up with another apology trip."

Eri shook her head, "Don't be an idiot, there was no way of knowing the bus was gonna get _hijacked,_ and besides, it's the thought that makes me want to speak to you again."

Light gave her a small smile, amusement glittering in his chocolate colored eyes. "Good to know." He glanced down at his watch, his expression morphing into something apologetic. "You should probably get back to your place and let your aunt know you're ok, the news will probably be all over the bus jacking soon, it'd be better for her to hear it from you then the TV."

She scoffed, "Light- have you ever _met _my aunt? Sometimes she forgets she has a niece."

"Even so, you should let her know."

Eri felt a twinge of unease at the thought of returning to her might-as-well-be-empty house in light of all that had happened, so she backtracked, putting on her best pleading face. "You sure? We could kick Sayu off the TV and watch a monster movie like when we were kids."

Light's face closed off, returning to a guarded state as casually as one might put on a coat when it rains. "Not today Eri. I'm sorry but this whole thing was pretty traumatic for both of us, and I'm going to have to talk to mom and dad and Sayu about it at some point, I doubt you want to be around for all that drama. It's probably best for both of us to just spend the night in."

It was clear from his tone the matter wasn't worth arguing about, so Eri reluctantly let it drop, reaching up to tug at her bangs in an effort to draw attention from the look of hurt she wasn't sure she been able to hide. "Yeah, ok."

She stood, forcing a smile and extending a hand jokingly to him. "Walk me to the door at least? If your mom catches me there'll be a lot of fussing and questions I don't want to deal with, and you know all the best ways to sneak."

He laughed, "Well when you put it that way I guess I have no choice."

"Not after today you don't."

They exited the bathroom as stealthily as possible and managed to make it to the front door without alerting anyone to their presence (which probably meant Sayu was in her room, that girl could hear like a bat). They opened the door to find twilight had fallen, courtesy of the early december nights, and Eri was surprised at how much time had passed. She would have to get a move on if she wanted to get home before dark. But a sudden thought stopped her, causing her to turn to where light stood silhouetted in the doorway, face cast partially in shadow.

"Hey Light, that FBI agent, Raye-something, he's supposed to be tracking Kira, right?"

Light cocked his head, "Yeah, L probably called him and a few others in secretly to work the case."

"So," She began, fighting off the sudden bizarre desire to laugh, "He must have thought that there was a pretty decent chance Kira was on that bus today, or at least, it was possible he might show up."

There were several beats of silence.

"Yes, I think that's the most likely reason for his being there today."

"Light?"

"Yes Eri?"

"I think that guy might think you're Kira." It had become an all-out fight to repress her desire to giggle.

Had her eyes not been on his face, she might have missed the slight quirk to her friends lips, distorting the shadows for only a moment before vanishing.

"Not anymore."

….

_Whoooo this chapter was a major pain in the butt to write! And I'm still not completely satisfied with it. But I hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter is going to focus a lot more on L so I'm sure you'll enjoy that one. Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! They mean the world to me and keep me wanting to write this story:) _

_AN: Kudos to anyone who knows what fantastic book a gunpowder 'beauty mark' is featured on the main character, I had to add it in, couldn't resist:). _

_**twilightamanda: **__Poor Eri indeed, she's sort of a mess without her memories. _

_**Kida Night: **__Thank you very much, I hope you enjoy this new chapter:) _

_**lili: **__Sorry we don't get to find out what L wanted to confirm in this chapter, but I'm willing to bet you guessed right;) Thanks for the great review. _

_**Indigo Scrawl: **__Wow. Just, wow. Thank you so much for your wonderful review!:D I'm truly flattered by how much you like it, it means a lot to me. I tried to go a different way with this story then some of the others I've seen, so I'm glad people like it enough to tell me so, you rock! _

_**anissa: **__Thank you, I shall:) _


	7. Chapter Five, Suspected

_Hello all, sorry about how long it took to update:( Finals and a recent death in the family left me with some pretty serious writers block, I even considered discontinuing this story, but I hate it when other writers do that, and I've still got a few plot bunnies that won't let go. Thanks so much for your patience, and I hope you enjoy._

* * *

It was raining again.

It had been raining on and off for the past week or so, and L wasn't sure how he felt about that. Although considering he almost never went outside if he could help it, it wasn't really a big deal. Still, he would have liked to stop by the patio coffee shop down the block; they were having a special on those amazing strawberry-puff things he liked so much. Luckily, Watari had stocked up on sweets the other day, otherwise his current surveillance-induced headache would have been even worse.

It hadn't been as difficult as he'd at first assumed to convince Chief Yagami of the necessity of surveillance. Which had been a pleasant surprise. It had certainly streamlined the investigation of the man's son much better than he'd initially hoped. But now, sitting in yet another darkened room in the Taeto Hotel, staring at the many TV screens, L's formerly good mood was waning in light of the almost overwhelming normality that was Light Yagami's life.

The young man in question came home at nearly the exact same time, every day. He went to his room, started studying almost immediately and then ate dinner with his family. Afterwards he watched TV, read or did some other recreational activity, and spoke to friends on occasion. He was the perfect model of a normal (albeit ludicrously intelligent) teenage boy.

Which, in retrospect, was why L believed he had the highest possibility of all their current suspects to be Kira. Light was simply too innocent to believe.

Still, there were definitely some cracks in his façade. If it was a façade. No matter how average Light appeared at first glance, L didn't peg him as the type to look at lingerie magazines in his spare time. And the image of Light sitting on his bed while placidly thumbing through the brightly colored pages of the latest _Sakura Girls_ gave the impression of someone going through the motions of what a 'normal' 17-18 year old did, rather than someone enjoying themselves.

Judging by Chief Yagami's reddening face, he hadn't picked up on the same thing. However considering how highly the man thought of his son, it was understandable. No matter how slight it may be, any doubt about his son was stress the Chief really didn't need.

"I can't believe my son is looking at those magazines." He said, making his discomfort clear in every syllable. L shrugged, tapping the tip of his thumb against his bottom lip and tugging it to the side in thought.

"It's normal for a 17 year old. But it seems contrived… The only reason he didn't want anyone in his room is because he had these magazines? That's what he _wants_ us to think…"

The chief shot him an indignant look out of the corner of his eye. "Hey! That's my son you're talking about. Are you honestly telling me you suspect him?"

L bit the tip of his thumb pensively, never taking his eyes off of the figure on the screen. "I do suspect him. That's why I placed wiretaps and surveillance cameras in your house and the deputy director's house."

The Chief shifted uncomfortably, but didn't respond. Yagami cared deeply about his son, but he was a reasonable man, and he knew the stakes. L found him one of the easiest people to work with that he'd met in a long time, something that was proving to be invaluable.

The rest of the task force had been useful as well, almost surprisingly so, in fact. Aizawa was on surveillance on one of the lower floors, and Mogi was out attempting to find witnesses to Raye Penber's death. Leaving Matsuda and Ukita back at HQ with L and the Chief. They had been going through old footage for almost six hours now without success, and even L could tell the strain was beginning to get to them.

Finally, Matsuda piped up from his place at the back of the room. "Ryuzaki, I know that you think there's a chance Light could be Kira, but what good is it going through all this old footage? It doesn't even relate to the Chief's family, and it feels like we've been sorting through it for days!"

Ukita snorted, "We have, we've just been in this room so long it seems like one long day."

L ignored them, slipping back into the recesses of his mind and letting Chief Yagami's response fade into background noise. Despite everything he'd said to the contrary, he understood the team's skepticism when it came to Light's possible guilt. The possibility of Light being Kira was, at best, a bit under 3% at this point. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that there were too many coincidences occurring around the boy, to be dismissive of any theories at this point. Now, if he would just stop acting so mind-numbingly normal, L might have been more open to following up on other leads, but as it was…

No one was this perfect, not even people like Light.

Suddenly, he was jerked out of his musings by Watari's hand on his shoulder.

"Ryuzaki, do you and Superintendent Yagami intend to stay on surveillance through the night? If so, would you like me to bring coffee?"

L blinked, nodding his head- as much to clear it as to give an affirmative answer. "Hm? -Oh. Yes.

Thank you Watari, please bring some for the others as well."

"Oh, Ryuzaki, I don't really like-" Matsuda began, before Ukita slapped him on the back cutting him off with a good-natured laugh.

"Shut up Matsuda, if it's gonna be another long night we might as well."

Watari gave them a sharp nod and turned to leave. The task force grudgingly returned, to the so far unvaried task of observation. L eventually resorted to balancing a strawberry on his fingertips in a bid to stay focused, which garnered some odd looks from the rest of the task force. They didn't comment though, which made sense, considering he'd caught Matsuda attempting his trademark deductive sitting position the other day, with predictably amusing results.

Things just seemed to be getting more and more frustrating as time wore on. While the facts of the case didn't seem to be getting any clearer since the first discovery of Kira's presence in Kanto, L couldn't shake the feeling he was maddeningly close to… something. Penber's death a few days prior, followed by the deaths of every single FBI agent called to Japan, had given them something to go on.

Although he had no clue which direction he should go. He had the information, but no way to use it. It was like trying to do a complex puzzle with all the edge pieces missing; there was no way to frame the information they had.

L was missing a crucial component, and the manner in which the investigation had been going, had done nothing to fix that fact.

L was snapped from his thoughts for a second time that evening, by the sound of his alias being called by Chief Yagami. He was looking at L with an expression that suggested he was unsure whether or not to shake the young detective. "Ryuzaki, my wife will probably have Sayu call Light down to dinner any minute now, we should probably switch to camera three."

He was right, of course. L nodded absent-mindedly. "Yes. And I-"

Suddenly, movement on the monitors captured his attention. On screen, the window to Light's bedroom slid smoothly open and a slender figure clambered through, brushing dirt off her front. L got the distinct impression Light hadn't been expecting a visitor, judging by how badly he jumped at her entry, quickly stowing the magazine out of sight.

The visitor in question was a dark-haired girl. Small, slight, and seemingly around Light's own age, wearing a hoodie and faded jeans. Something glinted at her throat, probably a necklace or chain. L felt a sudden, intense sense of recognition at her entry, and mentally ran back over the past few days, trying to think of where he might have seen her.

Light's slightly distorted voice came over the speakers, carrying with it an air of surprise and... irritation? No… that didn't seem right…

_"Eri? It's almost dinnertime, what are you doing here so late?"_

The girl in question shot Light a look of mock offense, reaching up to tug at the dark fringe of hair that fell into her pale eyes. _"Light, I'm surprised at you! When I picked you as my study-buddy for the To-Oh entrance exams, I assumed you were as committed to it as I was."_

There it was again; the strange sense of déjà-vu, this time when she touched her hair. L glanced over at Chief Yagami, who was observing the scene as though he wasn't sure whether or not to disapprove.

"I take it you didn't know this was going on?" He said slowly.

The chief blinked in momentary confusion, "Going on?"

L gestured vaguely to the screen, "Whatever this is. Study dates, I suppose."

Mr. Yagami frowned, rubbing his temple thoughtfully. "No, though it does explain how that side of the house gets so dirty. I would prefer it if she simply used the front door."

"Is there a reason she wouldn't? Or rather, doesn't?"

The man shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the pained expression on his face making him appear more like a man on a witness stand, then a collected officer of the law. "Eri and I- Well, our relationship has never been the smoothest. I worked with her father some years ago, on a sting operation that went bad, I don't think she's ever forgiven me for the result. I imagine all this sneaking around is an attempt to avoid me." He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping with the exhausted acceptance of a man who'd replayed this particular story far too many times in his mind. "I suppose I can't really blame her."

L nearly missed the last half of Chief Yagami's explanation, as something clicked into place at the word 'father'. An image flashed across his mind's eye: a dark-haired man with a careworn face, filed under deceased and put aside when it failed to provide the breakthrough he'd been hoping for. _'Hiro Yamazaki, killed by the Hansuda Gang in a violent hit, along with his wife, survived by one daughter…'_

Well, if nothing else, it had certainly made the identification process of his newest variable easier.

Excepting her eyes, Eriko 'Eri' Yamazaki was the image of her father, and the more exotic aspects of her appearance could be attributed to her French mother.

It took L several minutes to realize he was staring again, clued in by the uneasy look on Chief Yagami's face.

"I knew I'd seen her somewhere before." L mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else.

The Chief's eyebrows shot up in surprise, which was a fairly common reaction. Most people assumed he didn't see anyone, at least, not in person.

"You've met?"

L shrugged, snatching up another strawberry and turning it over in his fingers before raising the sweet red fruit to his lips and taking an exploratory bite. "Mmm, in passing. We met about a week or so ago when Watari locked me out in an attempt to make me 'get some sun'. She'd run off and gotten lost."

The Chief smiled wanly. "That certainly sounds like her."

L leaned forward in his seat, and tilted his head to better see the images on screen, trying to get a read on the two people displayed thereon. Eri had managed to convince Light to help her study, and the both of them were now seated on the floor with their backs against Light's bed frame. They shared a textbook between them. To the casual observer, the scene simply oozed comfortable familiarity, but on closer inspection there was a tension about Light's shoulders, and a smile that corrupted it- made it almost two-dimensional. Eri either didn't notice, or was deliberately ignoring the signs, but he couldn't be sure…

"Mr. Yagami, do you think she'll stay for dinner?"

The Chief started at the question, then nodded slowly. "Probably, Sachiko always liked her, and even if she tries to leave she'll likely be guilt tripped into staying."

L smiled slightly. "Good. Then I think we should air our message on the news directly after dinner. When your family usually watches TV."

Luckily, it seemed they wouldn't have to wait long. After dinner (which Eri was indeed guilt tripped into attending) Sayu turned on the TV, and when the broadcast interrupted the misty-eyed romance she'd been watching all members of the household's attention were immediately drawn to it. Their reactions were varied, but almost all were of genuine surprise.

_"1,500 investigators?! Wow, the police really aren't messing around here anymore, huh?"_ Eri's voice crackled over the speakers, the distortion making it sound shrill.

Sayu nodded excitedly, _"Yeah! Dad must be getting really serious about catching Kira."_

In contrast to the girls, Light seemed less impressed. _"The ICPO sure is stupid."_

Eri frowned, shooting him a confused look. _"Huh?"_

Light shrugged, "_I mean there's no point in making this announcement. If they're going to send all these people here to investigate, shouldn't they keep it a secret? Even the FBI agents who were secretly investigating were killed by Kira; why would this be any different? If you ask me, this is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shock Kira, in the hopes that he'll reveal himself somehow. And quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Kira sees right through this."_

Eri scoffed at her friend, _"Of course because the great genius Light Yagami, is soooo much smarter than fully trained police officers-"_ she started, but then she paused, reaching up to tug at her bangs. _"Although… You may be onto something. This is pretty much the same trick L pulled last time, with that Lind L. Tailor guy. And considering how smart Kira has been so far, he probably wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. But, I dunno… it seems almost like L's testing the waters, trying to get a read on just how Kira thinks. If you ask me, that's pretty smart. It probably won't work, but still, smart."_

L could have sworn there was a brief flash of displeasure across Light's face at that, but it could have been a trick of the light.

It wasn't a full confession. In fact, nothing that occurred that evening was even minutely incriminating. Definitely not enough to warrant further surveillance. But L couldn't shake the feeling that it would be a very big coincidence, for this girl to keep turning out to be connected to, or encountering almost every person connected with the Kira case. And he'd never been one to put much stock in coincidences. Light Yagami on his own was currently their prime suspect, but with the inclusion of the mysterious Ms. Yamazaki, Light fit the bill even more. Which in turn motivated L to move forward with his investigation of the ambitious young man.

He hadn't previously considered the possibility that Kira could be working with others, or even that he could in fact be multiple people, but with trail in danger of going cold, L felt willing to consider any possibility. Of course, this meant that the investigation was going to have to change its strategy, seeing as the surveillance tactic seemed all but played out.

Appearing exactly when needed, as he always seemed to do, Watari stepped into the room carrying a tray of coffee and chocolate-dipped biscuits, just as L grabbed the last of the strawberries. He set down the tray and turned to return to his usual post, before L reached out and lightly grasped his sleeve. Watari paused and bent at the waist to put himself more on the same level with the young detective's position on the couch.

"Yes Ryuzaki?"

"Watari, I'll need your assistance in getting together the proper paperwork, to take the To-Oh entrance exam." L said turning his shadowed eyes on Chief Yagami, restraining a slight smile at the confusion on the man's face. "Superintendent Yagami, your son will be taking the exam on Monday, correct?"

"I- Yes."

L nodded, setting his thumb against his lower lip in contemplation. "Good... Then we have almost five days to prepare."

Watari straightened and gave him a sharp nod. "That should be plenty of time to put things in order."

L waited until his mentor had left the room before glancing back at the Chief, who was making a valiant effort to hold back the torrent of questions clearly brewing behind his eyes. Finally, after several minutes of near silence interrupted only by the rhythmic sound of L adding an absurd amount of sugar to his already sweetened coffee, it seemed he could bare it no longer.

"Ryuzaki- I'm not sure I understand exactly what your plan is…"

L shrugged, snatching up a biscuit and putting the whole thing in his mouth at once, chewing thoughtfully before answering. "I'd have thought that would be obvious. Surveillance isn't getting results, and Light is still our best lead. And now, we have the additional mystery of Ms. Yamazaki's involvement in the Kira case. Soon, they'll be spending a good portion of their time at To-Oh, so it's only logical that the person most suited to the task do the same."

The Chief's eyebrows shot up, "Eri? What does she have to do with any of this?"

L reached out and raised his refilled coffee cup, staring down at his own pale face reflected in the liquid's dark, steaming surface. "Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. But that's what we have to find out."

* * *

It had taken a lot of prodding on Eri's part, to get Light to help her study enough to feel comfortable taking the To-Oh entrance exams. But all in all, Eri felt pretty confident, as she sat down a few seats to the right of her friend in the testing room. There were more students than she'd expected, but since most of them looked just as or a lot more nervous than her, she probably didn't need to feel intimidated.

Light, of course, looked utterly at home in this setting, and had arrived with only three minutes to spare. He projected an aura of calm over the entire room that even seemed to sooth some of the 'near hyperventilating' applicants around him. Eri found herself wishing she had half his confidence; she'd never have to worry about test anxiety again.

Light caught her eye and gave her an encouraging smile, which Eri managed to return weakly, before turning her attention to the front of the room. The scowling examiner at the front glared out at the sea of faces for what felt like an eternity before reaching under the desk and passing out the exams, fixing each student with a look that said _'just try to turn it over early, I dare you'_. Eri kept her hands beneath the table the entire time, just in case he got the wrong impression.

They weren't even a minute into the exam before something went wrong. Eri had barely finished the second question when the instructor's jarring voice barked sharply from the front of the room, making a few students jump.

"You there! Student number 162! Sit properly in your seat!"

_'Sit properly? What does that even mean?'_ As discreetly as possible Eri, strained her neck to look behind her, without being overly obvious, and was greeted with a substantial shock. She hadn't thought about him since the chance encounter a week or so ago, but he wasn't the kind of person you'd forget.

Hideki Ryuga was seated a few places behind Light, perched on the edge of his seat and pointedly ignoring the instructor. His unmistakably shadowed eyes were instead fixed on Light, burning through his skull as if attempting to see whatever lay within.

* * *

_I hope everyone liked it, and sorry again about the long-ass wait:\ Henceforth, there will be a lot more interaction with Eri and L, so for those of you who were wondering when i'd get to the point, it's finally happening. As always, please review, and special thanks to my wonderful new beta delahwly!_

_**greenprisoner:**_ _Thank you for asking such a great question! If anything is unclear, I always want to clarify for my readers if something comes of as confusing. I guess the best answer is that Eri probably wouldn't have given it up if the person with the other Note was anyone but Light. What Eri fears most is death, and even since she got the Death Note the idea of someone else having one has terrified her because if __she_ _figured out how to protect herself from the Note, who's to say someone else couldn't figure out how to negate that? When she finds out it's Light, those fears are realized because Light is smarter than her and definitely capable for doing so. In addition, their closeness almost guarantees he'll find out she has it. Eri doesn't want to stop Light or bring him to justice, she wants to stay out of it as much as possible for her own safety, in her mind, ignorance would keep her safe until the endgame. What she didn't account for, was her behavior without the note. Remember, she's never met that Eri, so she has no idea what that Eri might do._

_**Theta-McBride:**_ _Thanks:)_

_**WildfireDreams:**_ _Thanks! I hope I don't disappoint._

_**Tziphora:**_ _Thanks again for reviewing, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy:) The necklace does seem to be good luck even without its power's eh? But we'll have to see how long that holds out..._


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